God gives us his battle worn and battle tested armor to stand in the evil day. Each piece of his armor is one of his attributes that we stand and resist in. Without these attributes we will be tossed around by the devil and his schemes. So what kind righteousness are we called to `take up`? It isn’t our self-righteousness (Phil. 3:9a) because we know that that is like a stinking rag to God (Isa. 64:6). It`s also not merely God`s imputed righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). While that is important, it can`t be that alone. It must also be practical or ethical righteousness lived out of us (Eph. 5:8b~9).    God asks those who follow Jesus to stand against the devil`s schemes by taking up his armor. He gives us this responsibility to finish the job that he started. Whether it be at home, at work, at the mall, we need to be properly armed in righteousness each and every day.

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Righteous Body Armour

This letter alerts us that we’re under satanic attack. We need weapons to survive and prevail. The good news is that God—the Divine Warrior—provides his own battle-tested armor. The Armor of God is given us to complete the Mission of God. The first piece is the ‘belt of truth;’ a ‘belt’ restricts, stabilizes & fortifies us. ‘Truth’ here is not ‘my truth,’ or yours; it’s God’s truth embodied in Christ, witnessed by the Spirit, attested in God’s Word. Truth becomes our ‘weapon,’ not merely by affirming doctrines, but by being applied—Paul calls it “truth-ing”—so that it governs our personal life & church-life. So let’s ask: will we as a church be fortified & restricted by God’s truth as we ‘fight the good fight’? Popular spiritual warfare strategies—‘territorial spirits/defilement,’ ‘spiritual mapping,’ ‘interrogating demons,’ ‘generational curses,’ etc.--should be subjected to the ‘truth-test’ prior to implementation.

Are You Armed Against Satanic Attacks?

Most of us are quite aware of our weaknesses & vulnerabilities, our insecurities & fears. But, I wonder if we have put it together yet that these are also where the devil often aims his attack? His attacks are carefully designed to attack our weak points and others at their weak points. He did exactly the same thing to Jesus in the wilderness (Lk. 4:1~13). He didn’t use the typical temptations to lure him into sin: sex, power & money. Rather, he tempted him with very real things to him, things that he could do, but chose not to. How then do we stand against the schemes of the devil? God has given us his word so we can understand his will and the direction he would like us to take. We need to take it in each day. We have the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11). We have to learn to remain in its effectiveness. We have the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:16b, 17a) with which we can protect out minds. And, we have the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:10, 11). We need to hide ourselves in that victorious name by speaking it, breathing it & relying on it for strength.

The Devil`s Tailor Made Devices

What are the universal, over-arching schemes of God’s enemy? That’s what we will look at this week. But we have to see who the devil and the satan are to do that. The devil is the accuser of all people (Rev. 12:10), & the satan is the adversary who opposes every good thing. This spirit-being is God’s enemy. He wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy (Jn. 10:10a). He is a liar and the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). So what are his schemes? 2 Corinthians 2:11 tells us not be ignorant of them. So what are they? In Gen. 3 we see 3 specific schemes that the satan and the devil use to trap us: disguise, deception & doubt. He comes in forms you and I would not expect as a way to engage and entice us. He deceives! It’s all he knows to do. Deception is at his very core! Lastly he sows seeds of doubt in our hearts about God’s word & God’s good motives. I hope you would not simply dismiss these things as they come to you. First, recognize them and then, lean into God for his strength to stand firm in the evil day (Eph. 6:10, 13).

Four Satanic Schemes

The Bible declares God is warring to reclaim his world from opposing cosmic forces. Jesus Christ’s cross marks God’s ‘D-Day invasion’ securing a beachhead in enemy-0ccupied territory. Believers are co-opted into this combat. Neutrality is not an option; we’re on one side or the other. We don’t fight ‘flesh & blood,’ humans—they’re merely ‘pawns,’ proxies. Some assert the ‘powers’ inhabit earthly institutions, corporations, & social structures; but our opponents are heavenly, spiritual. There’s an ‘air war’ against ‘rulers & authorities,’ plus a ‘ground war’ against the ‘evil cosmic power alliance’ of Sin, Death, & the Flesh. ‘Sin,’ like a wild animal, needs subduing; ‘Flesh’ highlights our vulnerabilities. Yet, God supplies his mighty strength & his full armor. We align with God by applying Christ’s victory & offering our whole being to God. Let’s fight the good fight!

The Evil Cosmic Power Alliance

The daily life we live in North America is usually so wrapped up with our daily affairs (kids, school, work, groceries, friends, etc.) that very few of us are even aware that we are in a war. And that war is not with our government or even with one another. Ephesians 6 shows us that our warfare is against evil, cosmic powers! That’s right, an unseen, but, oh, so real, foe. This spiritual warfare we are in is not a thought tacked on at the end of this letter. Rather, it’s a crucial theme that Paul weaves throughout.    Being aware of one’s enemy is a key component to successfully fighting a war. We don’t want to underestimate nor overestimate their ability. What we see in Ephesians is that these evil, cosmic forces have hijacked God’s good world and hold it, humans included, in their enslaving grip. But God has broken that grip through Christ’s death on the cross. Now those who are set free through Christ’s death, the church, are a sign of God’s victory on earth and are to display God’s wisdom to those enslaving and evil powers. 

Wake Up! We’re In A War!

The NT ‘Household Codes’ (Eph. 5, 6; Col. 3) mandate the roles of wives/husbands, children/parents, & slaves/masters. They enshrine in Scripture modified versions of Roman-Greek ethical codes. In our era they have generated heated debate & bitter controversy; 150-years ago they were used to justify US slavery. Are they timeless divinely-ordained principles or historic protocols irrelevant today? Do they reflect ‘universal norms’ or an ‘interim ethic’ which tolerated 1st-century patriarchy and slavery? How can we treat them as “God’s Word,” and apply them today in our cultural context? What can we learn from Paul’s interaction with slavery on both personal & institutional levels?

Follow the Redemptive Arc

The air that the Ephesians breathed was one steeped in hierarchy and patriarchy. As a male Roman citizen who owned land and an estate, you were a patriarch. And the society and culture around you, where more than 50% of people were slaves, served for so that you would gain benefit. As a patriarch, you were part of a very small minority of the total population. Nevertheless, no matter what, you as a patriarch would come out on top.    As a patriarch there would be certain household relationships as well: husband/wife, father/child, and master/slave. He again enjoyed the place of authority and power in each of those relationships. But what happens when that patriarch became a follower of Jesus? (Eg: Book of Philemon). Were they to live as their society and culture expected? Paul subtly subverts the expected societal behaviours in a typical household in Eph. 5:22-6:9, as husbands/fathers/masters were called to live in a new manner toward their “subordinates”. As we see in Jesus, we don’t serve and live out of power and authority, but out of love and a heart of humility. 

Subtly Subversive Submission

Christian couples operate concurrently on two levels—relating as spouses, but also to Christ as Savior/Head & the Church as his Body/Bride. These relationships aren’t independent; they are interwoven. Ephesians 5:21-33 reflects this; it has a ‘chiastic (ring) structure’—like a nested set of ‘Russian dolls.’ It’s also like a nut—a hard outer ‘shell,’ with ‘meat’ inside. Some are repulsed by the ‘shell’—“Submission…headship!...What?”—so they miss the center. We should break through to grasp the ‘heart’—the Cosmic Union of Christ & the Church. Couples are simultaneously spouses, but also jointmembers of Christ’s Body. Not only wives, but also husbands, are charged to submit to Christ our Head. Receiving Christ’s love, sacrifice, cleansing, provision & cherishing (care) will transform, restore & uplift our marriages to match God’s design.

Mega-Mystery of Marriage

“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, & spiritual songs, singing & making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. 22 Wives, (submit) to your husbands as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:15-22 CSB)

Submission without Hierarchy

“And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Chris to our God and Father” (Eph. 5:18-20 CSB) “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Col. 3:16-17 CSB)

Teaching through Worship

“Spirit-filled” is a popular phrase among Christians. Yet it’s given diverse meanings—Spirit-baptism, tongue-speaking, inspired prophecy, ecstatic experiences, etc. Strikingly, ‘Spirit-filled’ occurs only once in all Paul’s writings—in Eph. 5:18. We ask: what does it mean here? It’s not the baptism, second blessing, anointing, or sealing of the Holy Spirit; nor does it involve ‘tongue-speaking,’ or being ‘slain in the Spirit.’ This directive is present, passive, indicative—‘‘Be being filled by the Spirit’--it’s a command to be constantly filled with God’s Spirit. We ask: how do we obey this passive command? In Ephesians the Spirit’s filling is not a private, personal pursuit; rather, together the believers constitute God’s Temple, his corporate priesthood. God’s Spirit fills us as we worship—through speaking, singing, psalm-ing, & hymning God’s word, with thanksgiving, in mutual submission. Our worship is not incidental; rather, it’s instrumental to our Spirit-filling!

Spirit-Filled — What it is. What it’s Not!

In Eph. 5:16, Paul states something that if we aren’t careful we will miss its importance. He says the days we are living in are evil! In the entire book of Ephesians he continually alerts us to the oppressive, divisive and destructive work of the evil cosmic powers. But he also shines light on God’s mission in Christ that defeated them, and released people from every tribe, tongue and nation from their bondage. But just because we are released from their control in Christ doesn’t mean we can live in a manner that is oblivious to their continued influences in our days.     In Ephesians 5:15-18, Paul gives us an overarching principle and two practical ways to navigate through the darkness and evil we live in. We are encouraged to first lean into God’s wisdom and then walk in it by understanding his will and by being continually filled by his Spirit. These very things give us the way to make the most of every opportunity in our lives by demonstrating the Christian life to our family members, friends, colleagues, neighbours and classmates. 

Guiding Lights In The Darkness

New Testament directives can sound like they are demanding the impossible, e.g. ‘Be imitators of God.’ But such directives are always based on what God has done for us. Technically, this is ‘the indicative-imperative relation.’ Some use the slogan—‘Be what you are.’ But that neglects our new creation status. It’s better rendered: “Become (in Christ) what you already are in Christ.” You’re God’s ‘beloved child,’ which equips you to ‘imitate your Father.’ We are loved by God, so we can ‘walk in love.’ We are ‘light in the Lord,’ so we can ‘walk as children of light.’  This week we examine what that means. It’s not asking for the impossible; it’s not an unattainable ideal. Paul gives practical pointers. Plus we will consider the puzzling saying: “Awake, sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Living Out Who We Are ‘In Christ’

Love & Freedom

At CIT we believe real love, real life, and real community, happens in the church. Whatever your walk and where ever you are in life, God loves you just as you are. If you're in Toronto, we'd love to see you in person at one of our Sunday services. For more information visit us at churchintoronto.com.

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Church In Toronto Sermon Audio

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