The Full Armor of God

The Suffering of Spiritual Combat, No. 2 - PH29-02

Advanced Bible Doctrine - Philippians 1:28-30

Ephesians 6:10

Beginning at Ephesians 6:10, we have described the Christian soldier's power. Paul says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." The apostle Paul here is speaking to Christians who are actively participating in the Lord's work. All believers are in full-time Christian service. He is speaking here to believers who have erected a spiritual maturity structure in the soul; they are following the techniques of the Christian life; and, they're functioning with their spiritual gifts.

He begins verse 10 with the word "Finally," which indicates that he is going to introduce something now as a summary of all that has preceded in this book. This is an introduction to the nature of spiritual combat, and our approach to it. He explains how to perform all that he has been calling upon believers to be and to do in the chapters which have preceded Ephesians 6. "Finally," then the expression "my brethren" is not in the Greek, but he is nevertheless indeed speaking to every Christian. All believers are to be active combatants in the angelic warfare.

He says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord." The Greek word "be strong" is "endunamoo." "Endunamoo" is present middle imperative. It is made up of two words. "En" means "in," and "dunamoo" comes from "dunamis" which means "power." When you put it together, it means "enstrengthened." "Finally, my brethren, be enstrengthened," or be inwardly strengthened. He is speaking here about a strength within the soul which is necessary for spiritual combat. He is not talking about a physical capacity. He is not talking about a psychological capacity. He is talking here of a spiritual strength within. We may translate this as, "Finally, be made strong or powerful." This means an active expression of courage. Christians are going to be made spiritually courageous when they take in the Word of God on a regular and constant basis. That's why we have the present tense here. Present means a constant state of spiritual courage. It is middle voice which means that the Christian decides to take in the doctrine which is going to make him bold and which is going to give him courage.

There is some debate among grammarians because this word can also be a passive. It happens to have the same ending. Therefore, you can't tell the difference just by looking at the Greek word. Even if it is passive, it still stresses the fact that the Christian is made courageous by something else other than himself. The middle simply would stress that he is responsible for making himself courageous by taking in the Word of God. The passive would stress the fact that it is the Word of God that makes him courageous.

However, the important thing to notice is that it is an imperative, and an imperative is a command. We are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to develop courage for the angelic warfare. That, of course, is what we had back in Philippians 1:28 when it said, "In nothing terrified by your adversaries." Do not be afraid of the demonic world. It is a terrifying world, and it is a world that can hurt you. Nevertheless, it is a world which you can conquer, and over which you can maintain a constant victory. The Word of God actually tells us to be in such a spiritual state of preparation that we are able to enter this angelic warfare without fear and with complete courage. In other words, we take doctrine into the perceptive side of the mind; we go positive toward what we've learned; we store it in the human spirit; we cycle it up to our directive mind; and, spiritual courage is the result.

He says that this being strong and this developing courage is to be in the Lord, which is indicating the source of this Christian courage. We need courage in the face of our demon adversaries. This is not something that we can meet with just positive human thinking. When you understand that this warfare is constantly around you, and that Jesus Christ cannot be touched except as He is struck at through you, then you will realize how important this admonition is and why it is a divine command. You see to it, God says, that you have the courage and the capacity to meet this kind of conflict. However, to do this is not to pick up an inspiration to the mind from some source or some positive outlook approach. What it actually is is a definitive decided reliance upon the Lord. All of this flows from the grace system of perception. We have the Scriptures; we have the local church; and, we have the Holy Spirit. You have a living human spirit; you have a teacher; and, you have a structure that God has provided in order that you may become courageous. And this is to be done in the Lord.

So, "Finally, be made courageous in the spirit of the Lord and in the power." The word "power" is the Greek word "kratos." It has the Greek preposition "en" which means "by means of." "Be made courageous in the spiritual warfare by means of the power (the strength) of the Lord Jesus Christ. This word "kratos" is what is expressed in action. This is power that you see being expressed. It is not something that is simply inherent. It is manifest action. It is a capacity, but it's a capacity which is outwardly evident. And it is in the power of His might," and the word "might" is the Greek word "ischus," and "ischus" is an inherent force. So, what we have here is "ischus" which is an inherent force, and it expresses itself in "kratos" which is an outward expression of power. What you have of the might of the Lord Jesus Christ within you through the Word of God is now expressed in a courageous powerful way in an outward expression. We have a beautiful chain reaction here. Inherent force "ischus" is expressed by "kratos," the outward expressing of that inherent force.

Ephesians 6:10 is actually a military call to arms. You and I as believers need not be weak and helpless in our living and in our serving of the Lord, in spite of the fact that we are surrounded by this angelic warfare. It is sad when Christians have to be defeated. It is a sad sad thing when Christians cannot cope with the problems of their lives without turning into animals. This is what happens when you are not operating on an inherent power (an "ischus") that has developed from Bible doctrine so that it is expressing itself in a "kratos" (an outward expression of power) which is the very strength of God flowing through you. It is sad when, instead of functioning like that within the angelic temptation and conflict, we resort to being animals.

When was the last time you had a problem? When was the last time you turned into a raging animal? When was the last time you turned to muscle and force? When was the last time you turned to an emotional screaming tirade? All of that is exactly the thing that the demonic world has been working to have you do. This is the thing that the apostle Paul says is the moment of defeat. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you should have such a strength within you, if you have been taking the Word of God within your soul, that you will meet the attacks and the temptations and the pressures of the demonic war around you, and you will be in stable control of yourself.

This is not just positive thinking. This is something that God produces in us. We who are united to the Lord Jesus Christ have available to us the supreme power of God himself. Stronger is He who is in us than the demons who attack us (1 John 4:4). All the divine power is tied to knowing and practicing Bible doctrine. So, the Father's orders to his Christian soldiers is, "Prepare to fight," but prepare to fight with the strength that He supplies. This is because we fight a non-human enemy.

In verse 11 we have the soldier's equipment. Paul says, "Put on the whole armor of God." The apostle Paul is going to go through the next few verses that follow in this passage, and he is going to use the image of a Roman soldier dressed in his battle gear ready for combat, in order to illustrate what a Christian soldier's equipment is for his spiritual combat. The apostle Paul, in his career, had many contacts with the Roman military service. He had this contact with him in many parts of the world. Sometimes the Roman soldier was his protector against the enemies of the apostle Paul. Sometimes, as when he was writing this letter, they were his guard while he was a prisoner of the Roman government.

As Paul writes this very letter of Ephesians, and as was true of Philippians too, he is chained 24 hours a day to a soldier, and to an elite soldier--a soldier that is called the Praetorian Guard. These were soldiers who entirely constituted an officer class type of military man. This soldier stood before Paul in full battle gear. As he sits here writing this letter, he is writing and he looks up occasionally, and he looks at the guard who is sitting a few feet away from him attached to him by this chain. He looks at the various parts of the soldier's armor. He looks at the weapons that he would carry, and one-by-one, he makes an analogy between the parts of the armor and the weapons, and how these compare to the spiritual warfare that Paul is very conscious of, and which he is trying constantly to alert Christians to the fact that we are in a fight. It's so easy for you to become oblivious to the fact that you're surrounded by a vicious desperate satanic demonic struggle of which you are the target.

So, Paul is trying to alert us to the fact we're in a fight, and how we're to conduct ourselves in that battle. In his letters, consequently, the apostle Paul, since he knows that the Christian life is a fight against an angelic host, he very often compares our experience to military service. He uses military metaphors many times in his writing, such as in 2 Timothy 2:3-4; Galatians 5:17; Galatians 5:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Colossians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; 1 Corinthians 14:8; Philippians 4:6-7; and, 2 Corinthians 2:14-16. You may want to look those up on your own. Every one of them has to do with military metaphors. But the most concentrated comparison of the Christian life to the military service is right here in Ephesians 6 in the passage that we're reading.

So in this passage, the apostle Paul, in comparing the Christian life to military service, begins by saying, "Put on the whole armor of God." The word "put on" is the Greek word "enduo." It is a word which means to utilize the spiritual equipment that God has supplied for defeating the angelic enemy in battle. It is in the aorist tense which means that every time you learn the Word of God, you are preparing for battle. Many many moments of using God's grace system of learning His Word prepares you for the moment of combat. It is middle because the Christian personally receives the spiritual protection from this equipment. In other words, your positive volition gives you the benefit of the protection of doctrine. It is again an imperative, a divine command, to use the battle gear. You may compare Ephesians 5:18 and 2 Timothy 2:15. This battle gear is to be worn by every Christian no matter what your stage of spiritual maturity may be. Every Christian is in full-time service. Every Christian needs this armor.

This word "put on" is the verb in the sentence that is going to tell us what we should do, and it is the first word in the sentence. When the Greek puts a word first in the sentence, it is because it wants to emphasize that particular fact. So, Paul is laying great stress upon the fact that he is telling us to do something which is within our power to do in order to prepare for the spiritual battle. What is that? To put on what he calls the whole armor. The whole armor is one word in the Greek. It's "panoplia." It comes from two Greek words: "Pan" means "all," and "plia" comes from "hoplon" which means "weapon," or "equipment." So, what he has in mind here is to put on the whole equipment or put on the whole weaponry of the Christian soldier.

He is telling us to use the complete equipment, and he is comparing it to a heavily armed Roman soldier infantryman. All parts of his battle gear are essential for combat. Put on the whole complete battle gear. But whose battle gear? These are not human weapons, but the whole armor (the "panoplia") of God. This is the divine provision which God has made for the angelic combat. Many Christians are very dedicated in their Christian service. They storm out to do for the Lord something they feel they can do; something they feel is compatible to their spiritual gift; and, something which indeed perhaps needs to be done in the way of service. However, if they storm into battle without having put on the whole armor, they will become casualties. You cannot serve the Lord when the angelic warfare rages around you without the full battle gear that God has provided and not get hurt.

There is nothing that Satan loves to see like soldiers coming against him who are trying to hit the beach without their weapons. They are trying to hit the beach without the physical stamina and all the mental preparation required for that moment of combat. They are trying to hit the beach without knowing how to deal with various tactical situations that may arise. They need to know how to handle themselves in a battle situation without getting shot down. That's what Satan likes to see in spiritual warfare. It is just like an enemy in military combat likes to see unprepared and ill-trained troops coming against him. Many Christians are serving the Lord, but they have failed to recognize this little imperative--this command that is nestled in Ephesians 6 which says that Almighty God commands you to put on the armor for spiritual combat.

So, the armor of God is the most important thing that you should be pursuing in your life. There are many other things that you may do as a Christian, but until the armor of God has been fully put on, there is nothing else that should preoccupy your thinking. Certainly, you should not be seeking to get into combat until the armor is fully in place.

Put on the whole armor of God. Why? "That." The word "that" here is the Greek word "pros." It introduces purpose. It is going to give us the purpose why we must have the provision of this divine armor. "That," he says, "you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." "May be able" is "dunamai." "Dunamai" is present. It is a constant battle readiness. It is passive. It is produced in the believer by the intake of doctrine which he has learned and now is ready to utilize. It is an infinitive which expresses God's purpose for this armor that He has provided for us. The ability in verse 11, "That you may be able to stand," this ability enables us to fulfill what he called upon us to do in verse 10, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Of course, this is what the whole local church operation is all about. It has been designed by God to give us the spiritual capacity for the angelic combat. The object is for each Christian, therefore, to build a spiritual maturity structure in his soul. That's how you put on the whole armor. You are not going to put on the whole armor of God by making new resolutions; by being determined to be faithful to the Lord; by deciding to clean up areas of your life that you know are areas of sin; by seeking to be more yielded; or, anything else. The way you are going to put on the armor is by building spiritual maturity in your soul. The only way you do that is by taking in doctrine. For this reason, Satan seeks to bring confusion, diversions, and distractions into the local church ministry. Here's how he does it:

The more a church and the more a pastor-teacher seeks to guide that flock toward its main need which is to hear and to understand the Word of God, the more Satan tries to raise up people within that congregation who begin bucking and resisting that direction. They begin pointing to other churches and saying, "Look at this nice big church over here. They run a dinner every Wednesday night. They have a social life for their people. They provide this thing and that thing, all of which may be things that may on occasion be instruments and vehicles indeed for the advancement of the Lord's work in the right direction, but which are secondary to the main calling which is the putting out of the Word of God. It is amazing how Satan can get Christians to fight the preaching and the explaining of doctrine.

People try to neutralize a pastor-teacher in a local church, and there are many ways that you can neutralize him. Just check in with your old sin nature, and you'll find many ways that Satan will suggest to you for neutralizing the ministry of the pastor-teacher. The reason he does this is because if that pastor-teacher is not neutralized, what is going to happen is that people are going to be sitting out there and they're going to be putting on the armor piece-by-piece. They're going to be learning tactics. They are going to be learning the devices of Satan. They're going to be acquainted with how to use their weapons, and pretty soon they're going to be active combat soldiers for the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is what Satan cannot afford to have happen. He wants the demonic attack to be able to come against incapacitated soldiers.

So, the apostle Paul says that the purpose of this armor is that you may be able to do something, and what is that? To stand ("histemi"). "Histemi" here means to be powerful in the sense of achieving victory. This does not mean to be powerful enough not to retreat. It means to be powerful enough to stand, and that means to win. What he is calling upon you is to come to the place where you are not defeated in your Christian life; where you're not running around like a screaming animal; and, where you're not emotional--rising over trivia and secondary things that are not consequential and absolutely worthless and which in all eternity you'd be humiliated and embarrassed to ever think that you ever made an issue over. He is calling upon you not only not to retreat, but to be victorious. "To stand" is the word that is used. This means to stand undefeated under combat conditions. It is aorist. This means any time that you're in service and you're in conflict with the angelic host. It is active. You do your own fighting.

Here's the pathetic picture of the local church today. Most Christians have never been introduced to the fact that they are in a warfare. Neither have they been introduced to the fact that God has provided a "panoplia" (a full armor) for them to put on. Nor have they been taught how to use that armor in combat. Consequently, they are sitting around and watching other people fight for the Lord. Mostly, they are coming to church and watching the preacher perform under the guise of winning souls. The infinitive means purpose, and the purpose is victory for believers.

Please remember that the opposite of "stand" is the word "defeat." That's the comparison here in this passage. He is saying, "I call upon you to be so powerful with an inherent power that expresses itself outwardly in an action in the angelic conflict that you will be a winner. You won't be somebody who will just keep from retreating, and you'll be faithful, and you'll hang in there and keep fighting for the Lord, but you'll be a winner. God doesn't like spiritual losers. We've got our share in the 20th century church.

"Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand." And stand what? "Against." The word "against" is our old friend "pros." This is the preposition that you should be well acquainted with by now which means face-to-face. It is a significant preposition. It is face-to-face with the enemy; with the wiles; and, with the strategy of Satan. The word "wiles" is the Greek word "methodeia." We may translate it as the cunning devices of Satan. These are his strategies or methods. This is the strategy of the devil.

The real enemy in the angelic warfare is not the people that Satan uses, but it is Satan himself. It is the strategy of Satan that we are confronted with. Satan calls the place for all of his demons. It is important that you remember that people are simply the instruments that Satan uses. Satan's expertise in this attack is something fantastic. In Ephesians 4:14, we have that expressed in these words: "That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive." But the slight of men and the cunning craftiness of men comes from another source. It is the commander of the battle which is Satan himself. What you see people doing is not their doing, but is Satan's doing. It is his clever use of human beings. So, the primary goal of a Christian is to seek maturity spiritually through Bible doctrine so that you are able to meet Satan's attacks and to be victorious every time in your service unto the Lord.

These wiles of the devil, these elements of strategy, are referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:11, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices." The word "devices" is the Greek word "noema" which means "mind," or "purpose." In other words, we should not be ignorant of the strategy of Satan. It will help us in our service and in our combat with this spiritual enemy. He has a purpose or a strategy relative to certain groups.

Satan's Strategy for Unbelievers

Another thing that he does with unbelievers is he seeks to deify or to glorify mankind. He promotes this deceit in the form of systems of religion (Genesis 3:5, Colossians 2:8). Religion is man trying to secure God's favor by his own efforts. However, God totally rejects all that comes from the old sin nature. However, Satan tries to lead the unbeliever to think that man is not totally depraved, and that the good things that come out of man have some worth with God.

So, relative to the unbeliever Satan, is trying to deceive them concerning that which is true. He wants to blind them to the gospel. He wants to blind them to their own condition and to their own desperate need of the Word of God from the gospel on down.

Satan's Strategy for Nations

Satan's Strategy for Believers

God's answer to Satan in these accusations against sinning believers is found in 1 John 2. It sums up in the statement that all sins are judged at the cross. He also wants to isolate believers from Bible doctrine, so he casts doubt about the Word of God as he did in Genesis 3:1. He encourages false techniques of learning. He tells people to sit in a circle in someone's home and fool all your spiritual ignorance. It's called "sharing," and then you will come to spiritual knowledge. That's a deceit to isolate you from the Word of God. He'll try to put you in a situation where you are getting instructed one person on one person instead of group privacy in the local church. All of these are variations of ignoring the fact that God has provided a grace system with various steps for learning the Word.

He has distractions so that you cannot concentrate to learn the Word of God. A man recently said to me, "You know, the trouble with the tapes from Berean is that they're too long. They're too long to sit and listen to. 45 minutes is too long to listen to the Word of God." But I knew what his problem was. He was telling me, "I haven't developed spiritually enough to be able to take in the Word of God, so Satan is able to whip me by bugging my concentration." One of the things that will be a sign that you're progressing in spiritual maturity is you're able to sit and listen to the Word of God for an extended period of time as it is explained to you.

Satan will also seek to entangle you with the details of life so that you will have no time for Bible study. Yet, without Bible study, you can't enjoy the details of life. He'll seek to undercut the believer by mental sins which destroy his ability to understand spiritual phenomena, and thus you lose your divine values in your soul. He'll seek to attack the believer through emotionalism so that you will override the principles of doctrine. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not emotional. It is a condition of confession. Satan easily distorts the emotions, and then causes us to serve his plans. Yet, doctrine will channel emotions as legitimate expressions.

Satan will cause you to be swayed by anything that he can except the directions of the Word of God. Satan will also seek to lead you away from the will of God in your life. God has an operational will for you (Galatians 5:7, James 4:7-8). That is, what does God want me to do? God has a geographical will for you (1 Thessalonians 2:18). Where does God want me to be, including what church does he want me to be in? God has a mental will for you (Isaiah 55:7-9, Proverbs 23:7, 2 Corinthians 10:5). What does God want me to think? What is the divine viewpoint He wants me to think.

Satan will also try to destroy, as part of his strategy, your focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. He'll try to get your eyes on yourself (1 Corinthians 1:10-11, Genesis 3:4-5, 1 Kings 19:10. Matthew 26:31-35). He'll try to get your eyes on material things (Hebrews 13:5-6). Worst of all, he'll try to get your eyes on people (Genesis 20:1-11, 1 Corinthians 3). Finally, he will try to cause you to fear death (Hebrews 2:14-15). He will try to neutralize you by causing you to be afraid of death.

In Ephesians 6:12, we tie this up with the description of the nature of your enemy. God has called upon us to be strong in the power and the might which is within us that He has placed there through His Word. He has called upon us to put on the whole armor of God so that we are able to stand victoriously against the various strategies of the devil. The reason we are called upon to wear this armor and to make this preparation is, "Because ("hoti") we wrestle not against flesh and blood." The word "we wrestle not" should be translated "to us, the wrestling is not." That's literally the way it is in the Greek. The word "is" is the Greek word "eimi." It is present active indicative. We constantly do not wrestle. The word "wrestle" is "pale" which means to sway. It has the image of two people in hand-to-hand grasp of one another, swaying and swinging back and forth until one throws the other to the ground and nails him to the floor. This is the exact picture of wrestling.

It says that we Christians are not in a wrestling combat that deals with human beings. That's what he means by "flesh and blood." This is a military-type combat we're in, but it is not a combat between people. A Christian, if he misunderstands this, is most easily made a casualty in his service. If you think you are fighting other people, and if you think you are doing battle with people, Satan has practically defeated you right then. What we do fight against is something very very formidable. It is much more formidable than other people. Here in verse 12, he then lists for us the nature of our enemy. He uses the word "against." "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood." And again he uses the word "pros," meaning face-to-face, but (he gives the contrast), and then he uses the word "pros" again four more times, each time to stress face-to-face with four specific ranks, constantly repeating that you're facing these demons face-to-face.

Here's your enemy. It is not flesh and blood. In contrast to flesh and blood, the real enemy in every area of our contact is not human. Humans are the agents. They're the patsies. Forget the people. As a matter of fact, forget the people who express the issues right or wrong, but only concern yourself with the issues that they express. That is the thing that counts. Christians fight an invisible and ruthless enemy who is very clever. Humans are mere patsies in this battle. Here are their ranks:

The Ranks of our Demonic Enemies

1. First of all, we fight a demon enemy called principalities. The Greek word is "arche." "Arche" is a word that connotes the highest type of ruler. Multitudes of demons hold this rank. It would be like a general in the military service. There are many highest ranking angel demon rulers.
   
   
2. Secondly, we face powers. The Greek word is "exousia." This means authority. This connotes leadership again, but of a lesser rank than the principalities. Principalities are above the powers, yet the powers are also an officer leadership type of rank.
   
   
3. Then we come to his next phrase which is "rulers of the darkness of this world." All of that is one word in the Greek. It is "kosmokrator." Actually, what this means is "world ruler." This should be translated as "world rulers of this darkness." "Darkness" is the word "skotos" which here refers to spiritual unenlightenment. "The world rulers of this darkness" is literally what the Greek says. So, we have a class of demon angels who are influencing this world system and the nations of this world. It is influencing the leaders of the nations of the world. We have this in Daniel 10:13 where we have the Prince of Persia spoken of. This is a demon world ruler of this darkness. In Daniel 10:20, we have the Prince of Grecia which is another demon power of this world darkness. This particular rank of demon attacks the divine institution of nationalism. It seeks world government for Satan's control. So, all over the world there are these demon rulers who are fighting national entities, and who are influencing the leaders of the world. This is why the Bible says that God permits the basis, the lowest kind of men, to become the rulers of nations. This is because those are the men who are most responsive to Satan's rule, and those are the ones who Satan puts in authority.
   
   
4. Finally, there is a category called "spiritual wickedness in high places." This is the word "pneumatikos." This literally means "spiritual elements of wickedness." The word "poneria" is "wickedness," and it means "depravity." These are spiritual elements of depravity, and this is the rank-and-file demon. This is the demon who performs various evil functions. We we're told that he does this in high places, and the Greek here is the word "en" meaning "in," plus "epouranios," that means "in the heavenlies." In other words, this means in the sphere of the heavenlies, or in the sphere of the air. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. The rank-and-file demons represented by this class of spiritual elements of wickedness are the ones who cause sickness. They possess unbelievers; they speak through mediums; they perform miracles; they bring pressures on Christians; they promote social causes of human good; and, so on.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1973

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