Are You Military Ready? In Christ, Are You A Force To Be Reckoned With?

Did you know that the Christian life is warfare? Many people that become Christians, don't realize that in becoming a child of God that they have entered into a battle, a war with Satan himself. If the enemy, Satan, were attacking you would you recognize it? Would you be prepared to stand against his deceptive schemes? Military readiness is tough training, but let's take a look at what God says about standing against spiritual forces! Let's be battle ready!

Ephesians 6:10-18 is a great passage to memorize, ask God to help you!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

This passage states clearly, that our battle is not "against flesh and blood"but against rulers and authorities of powerful forces, (fallen angels that are headed by Satan) we are in a spiritual battle and we need to be aware of the enemy's deceit and tactics. God's Word gives us some clear instructions how we can stand against these forces that we can't even see! Are you equipped for battle?

Apart from the gospels, no other book focuses on spiritual warfare like the book of Ephesians. Paul had purpose in emphasizing these matters in writing to the church in Ephesus. Understanding the culture of the day, and it's history will be helpful in our understanding Paul's purpose in emphasizing the power of spiritual forces of darkness!

Ephesus, in Paul's day was the 4th largest city in the Roman Empire! It was home of the temple of the goddess Artemis, sometimes referred to as Diana. Artemis was a fertility goddess and was believed to have fallen directly from heaven. The image had a turreted head and many breasts. Though many deities were worshipped, Artemis seemed the most popular of the Asian world at that time. People traveled from all over the Mediterranean to worship in this temple. Ephesus, being the center of trade and the home of the temple of Artemis boosted its economy. Lodging, restaurants, silversmiths, etc. reaped the benefits from the many pilgrims of travel.

The enemy had a grip on the city with its idolatrous and demonic worship. Artemis being the patroness of sexual instinct only furthered the money to be made by the prostitutes that were available as an object to fulfill these lusts. The city was abounding with evil and was held in Satan's clutches when Paul arrived!

God sent Paul, as a living epistle, to strengthen the church and to confront the enemy. Don't think the enemy didn't confront the challenge! In Acts 19 you can feel the conflict and the confrontation as Paul enters the city!

Acts 19 from the Living Word of God:

"While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,  so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer."

The Riot in Ephesus 6:23-41

"About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.  If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly."


My friend, do you sense the tension? Do you recognize the warfare? Paul's presence and teachings are causing great stress! Incomes are being lost! Is your Christian walk so powerful, in Christ, that the principalities and powers of the dark world are threatened by you? They were, obviously, greatly threatened by Paul's presence. Paul was a powerful foe, he walked in the power of the Spirit! He had learned to wield his Sword, God's Word, He was well grounded in the truth! Truth is a powerful force, it brings light into the darkness! Would you say that we, you and I, are a powerful force to be reckoned with? Do the demons know us by name?

So looking back to Ephesians 6:10-18 again:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Whose power are we suppose to stand in? It's not our own! These are powerful forces! Remember the Jews that got beaten, in the Acts 19 passage, by one man with an evil spirit, they left naked and beaten!

So, how could Paul be such a powerful foe? Paul had learned to stand in God's power and might! Paul kept his armor on! God's Word says we are to put on the FULL armor of God, we are not to leave any part of it out! It's purpose is, clearly, stated here, "so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes". The enemy is deceitful and crafty; we are told we are to stand firm! To stand our ground, with the belt of truth buckled around our waist; the truth, God's Word! Do you know God's truths well enough to combat satan's lies? We are to be grounded in the Word of truth, to know it, so we cannot be deceived by the evil one! Satan is no small force! Our breast plate of righteousness needs to be in place. Yes, as believers, we have been declared righteous, but we are, also, called to walk in righteousness! Jesus broke the chains of sin and placed His Spirit within us that we might be holy as He is holy! Our shield of faith is for "extinguishing the flaming arrows of the evil one"; we've talked about our shield of faith being our forward guard, it must be held up to protect us, when dropped, when in doubt, fear assails us and we are defeated by the enemy! I don't know about you, but for me, fear is like torture, walking in fear is just plan miserable! Faith brings confidence! Our shields of faith have to be held up! Our helmet of salvation, without it, we cannot stand in God's power! When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, when we look to His death on the cross, His blood, His sacrifice on the cross to be the payment for our sins, instead of our own "good works", then we are given His Spirit! If you want to learn more about this, read Romans 8! Come on let's dig! Dig in, let's fulfill the next requirement which is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, we need to know it! We need to be able to teach God's Word! We are not just called to be disciples, but to make disciples, to be a part of training others up! 

Matthew 28:19-20 says,

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even until the end of the age." (This is a commandment, not an option!)

These are the words of Jesus calling us to the "Great Commission"! Are we answering His call? Are we too busy to be obedient? Maybe, we think that's the "pastor's job, isn't that what he's paid for?" No, my friend, his calling is to preach Word, to train us up for the work of the ministry. Our job is to do the work of the ministry, to make disciples! 

I skipped over the shoes shod with the readiness of the gospel for this very moment. Are we "disciple making ready"? Do we know the Word, well enough, to have confidence to teach it to another? If someone asked us why we believe what we believe can we, with or without a Bible, share the plan of salvation with another? Shoes shod with the readiness of the gospel ready? The church is falling short, my friend, the spiritual decay of our nation is on our heads; we will have to answer for it! Someone else will do it? Who? It's God's command to us, the church ~ you and me, as individuals! 

If you've read all this today, I commend you! You are desiring to dig deeper and seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord or you would have dumped this blog long ago! Most will stop after the first paragraph! I'm praying for you! You're on the right track!

I leave you with two verses to ponder:

1 Peter 5:8 says,

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering."

John 8:32 says, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." (And this was exactly the enemy's concern with Paul's arrival! Is the enemy concerned about you and me?)

It's never too late to power up! Let's get into the Word of Truth, let's learn to wield our swords with precision and accuracy! It's food for the soul, for spiritual strength! Let us sit at His feet and know Him and turn and make Him known! We can make disciples! Tell another what Christ has done for you today! Let's brighten the light of the church in a dark world! We haven't been called to defeat, but to be Victors! We can walk it confidence! Let's take the gospel to a lost world!

"Greater is He that is in me, than he who is in the world!"