Last week we saw some foundational thoughts about spiritual warfare. We saw who the battle is between – Satan and his angels, against God, His holy angels and saved human beings. We saw the battle is over God’s name. We saw that while Satan and his angels are the opposition, they are not the target. We are fighting for souls, not seeking to directly confront demons. We also saw that Satan has limited power; his kingdom is a rebel kingdom within God’s kingdom. As such, we are not fighting for victory, but fighting from victory. Satan was defeated at the cross, and what is left are skirmishes until God’s final victory is worked out.

Tonight we want to look at the practicality of it all – how do we wage warfare? We are in the battle, of that there is no doubt. The day you were saved, you were enlisted. We want to see from Ephesians, and from other passages – A soldier’s Attitude, a Soldier’s Armour, and a Soldier’s Actions.

The Attitude of a Soldier

A soldier needs to have a mental attitude, a mental approach to the battle that is different from someone not in the battle, from someone enjoying peace. You could call it a ‘wartime mentality’. Soldiers on the frontlines are thinking about different things from someone enjoying snorkelling in the Maldives. Soldiers facing bullets and bombs have different priorities, different values, and different lifestyles than those sitting on a porch on a rocking chair. And if we are going to be effective soldiers for Christ, we need to have this wartime mentality. What is a wartime mentality?

1) Endure hardship

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (2Ti 2:3).

A soldier is willing to face and endure hardship. He knows he may have to live on rations, be in a trench, sit on the battlefield in the pouring rain and march in the searing heat. He knows he may face wounds, dismemberment or even death. But he embraces the hardship of the battle because he regards victory as more valuable than personal comfort. Christianity is suffering from what I call comfort and climate-controlled Christianity. Picture a Roman soldier walking up to his centurion and complaining that one of his fellow-soldiers hadn’t greeted him that morning. Picture a Roman soldier being quite earnest while he complains that they can’t schedule a battle for 3pm, that’s his family time. Well, we know such scenarios are laughable because battle calls for sacrifice, hardship and difficulty. If we are going to be soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must embrace hardship – not just in principle, but in practice. I Corinthians 16:13 says, ‘stand fast, quit you like men” – i.e. be courageous, front and centre – face the music. If it be financial hardship, or emotional persecution, or slowing down our worldly advancement, or less creature comforts and fewer extra pleasures, or possessions, or vacation – to further the name and cause of Christ worldwide, that’s what we are to embrace. Yes, I’ve signed up to be a soldier. You say, “I didn’t, I just signed up to be saved.” No, if you received Christ, you received Him as the one who you will follow, and Jesus, as we see in Revelation 19 is the captain of the host of the Lord.

2) Don’t be entangled with the world

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2Ti 2:4)

A soldier does not get entangled, caught up in civilian pursuits – because he is a soldier. A Christian is to be free from too much involvement in this world. That does not mean we are to quit our jobs and stop going to the shops or anything like that. But it does mean we are to avoid getting sucked into the everyday affairs of this life as if there is no battle going on. It is all too easy to allow ourselves to think that life is really just what the world says it is about – find someone to love, get a good amount of money, buy the things you want, live where you want to, pursue your little hobbies or interests or sports, be successful and admired by others, and then grow old and die. But that’s not life. And when we find ourselves more caught up in being worried about prices going up, the latest clothing fashion, our houses, cars, bills to pay, political situations – that’s when we must take a step back and remind ourselves: We are fighting a battle – an eternal battle for souls.

3) Be alert.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (1Co 16:13).

A soldier is to be alert, ready to go at anytime, listening for an alarm, ready to react. A soldier must be aware of how the enemy can attack. The most devastating attacks are surprise attacks, so the soldier’s attitude is to be one of watchfulness and alertness.

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”(1Pe 4:7). Also I Pet 5:8

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. (1Th 5:6)

But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. (2Ti 4:5)

What are we to be watchful for? In 2 Corinthians 2:11 Paul says that he does not want Satan to get an advantage in the church, and then he says, “for we are not ignorant of his devices’. As soldiers we are to be alert to the strategies and activities of Satan.

If we are going to wage war effectively, we should know what to expect from our enemy. Fortunately, the Bible has given us much regarding the strategies of Satan.

• He Deceives – He presents his belief system as the most satisfying – I John 2:15-16 – glorifies sin and ‘weirdifies’ righteousness. Satan knows sin destroys. But his goal is to get believers and unbelievers to drink the poison that will destroy them.
• He Distorts the Word of God. He has always said, ‘Yea, hath God said?” He omits, adds, distorts or modifies the words of God to change their meaning to his own ends.
• He Defames God – He says that pleasing yourself in a way God forbad is actually to your advantage. You will not lose, you will gain. The reason God forbids you from pleasing yourself in ways He does not approve of is that He is pleasing Himself at your expense. Therefore, you cannot trust that His laws are truly for your good. If God pleases Himself selfishly, why shouldn’t you”?
• He Disarms – tempts. Sin is like a poisonous dart. If continually practised, it weakens, corrupts, and ultimately destroys. He attacks our weak points.
• He Discourages – under God’s control, he thwarts our efforts, brings trouble and pain, suffering, hardship and loss. His goal is to steal away our hope and to remove the things we aim for, thinking we will despair and give up the fight.
• He Divides – he causes Christians to divide and turn their guns on one another.
• He Distracts – with issues, non-issues, vain controversies, worldly entanglements, doctrinal minutia, causing Christians to start attacking windmills.
• He Intimidates – threatens us with physical harm, persecution, deprivation, so that we will shrink back in fear.

If we are going to be God-pleasing soldiers, we need to have the right attitude. We must be willing to endure hardness. We must not get entangled in the world. We must be alert – be vigilant to Satan’s schemes and devices.

The Armour of a Soldier

But then, if we are to be effective for God, we must do more than have the right attitude, we must have the right armour. A soldier can have all the right mental toughness, but if he lacks the equipment with which to defend himself or attack the enemy, he will be unsuccessful.

Not only must he have the right equipment, but he must have all of it. A Roman soldier was not ready unless he had his helmet, breastplate, shield, sword, belt and shoes. So we read twice in this passage in Ephesians that we must take the whole armour of God. Every piece must be taken. We see the six pieces of armour divided up into two groups of three. The first three, the Bible regards us as having taken, the next three as weapons we must actively take up.

You could think of the first three as continual armour, and the next three as combat armour. The first three are items that soldiers kept on even when resting from a march, or when in the camp. The next three were taken up when marching or heading into battle.

The first one we see is ‘having your loins girt about with truth’. That means – having your waist girded or fastened about with truth. It is another way of saying ‘having fastened on the belt of truth’. Roman soldiers wore a loose fitting tunic. When it was time for action, the soldier would pull the four corners of the tunic through his belt, and was now ready to run, march or fight unencumbered. I believe this refers to rooting your life in truth – living truthfully. It is similar to what John calls ‘walking in the light’. Instead of saying we have no sin, or that we have not sinned – we confess our sins and walk in the light. We recognise the truth about God, about ourselves, about others, and we live in light of that truth. Those who practise self-deception, who choose to believe what they prefer, will find they are tripping over their tunic, so to speak. Truth clears up what is required; it makes life clearer and simpler. A Christian soldier, as a way of life, is addicted to truth – to reality through the lens of God’s Word.

Next we see, ‘having on the breastplate of righteousness’. A Roman breastplate was usually a moulded metal chest plate that covered the soldier from the base of the neck to the top of the thighs, protecting the vital areas. A breastplate of righteousness refers to the righteousness given to us in Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 5:21) It is His righteousness that is given to us the day we are saved, which we continue to work our practically.

When we are attacked by darts of guilt, assailed by new temptations, assaulted by doubts about our security in Christ – the breastplate of righteousness is essential. Protecting the vital organs of our soul is our justification. Having been forgiven; having been cleansed of all of our sins, we continue to live that out. This is one of the most important defensive weapons we have. A clean and godly life is absolutely essential if we are to triumph over Satan and fight the good fight. A life of sin gives place to the devil.

The third continual piece of armour we are to have is our shoes. We don’t often think of shoes as part of the armour, but they definitely are. A soldier could not afford to slip when on the battlefield. He needed protection for long marches. Sometimes, enemies placed spikes in the ground, intended to pierce the feet of the soldiers. So the shoes were part of the armour. And we find them referred to with the rather difficult phrase: ‘having your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace’.

Some see this as being prepared to share the Gospel. Others see it as having a readiness to face life because of the Gospel. It probably refers to being ready to move out to fight; to stand because of and with the Gospel. You have both feet in the Gospel so to speak. Its truths give you readiness to face life. Its truths give you readiness to share it. We think of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy:

“Preach the word! Be [instant] ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2Ti 4:2)

So a soldier at all times must approach life with truth, must be grounded in his justification in Christ, and have all readiness to face life given by the Gospel.

But then there are three weapons we must actively take up for the battle:

We must take the shield of faith. A Roman shield was a large rectangular shield, usually made of wood and covered with leather or metal. It could defend against enemy arrows, as well as in hand to hand combat. Enemies would sometimes fire arrows coated with pitch, which upon heating the shield would splatter into little fiery bits which could set a shield on fire. The Romans treated the leather on the shields to extinguish the arrows.

In the same way – faith extinguishes the flaming arrows of the evil one. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Faith is implicit trust in the Person of God. It is counting His Person good enough and powerful enough and faithful enough to make good on His promises. So as the arrows of guilt come, we trust His promise of justification. As the arrows of fear come, we trust His promise of protection. As the arrows of doubt come, we trust His promises of faithfulness to the end. As the darts of discouragement come, we trust His promises of reward. As the darts of sinful temptation come, we trust His promises of better rewards in righteousness. Every arrow can be deflected by trusting that who God is will be more than enough for me in every situation. Who He is, as revealed by what He has promised a believer is what we keep holding on to, and holding up as the arrows come.

The next weapon is the helmet of salvation. And it might seem strange that we must ‘take up’ the helmet of salvation. After all, if we are saved – why must we take it up? I don’t believe the idea here is to take up our salvation in the sense of getting saved again and again – since that is not possible. I believe the idea here is for us to continually take up the fact of our salvation.

The helmet was the crucial piece of armour that protected the head from the crushing blows of an enemy sword. In the same way the fact of our salvation protects us from many of Satan’s strategies. We are to always have our salvation on our minds, the past aspect- that we have been saved from the penalty of our sins. No condemnation is coming to us ever. The present aspect of our salvation – we are being saved from the power of sin; our habits, our ways, our whole character is being reshaped to be more pleasing to God. The future aspect of our salvation – we shall be saved from the very presence of sin. We shall be in God’s very presence in glory, where the suffering and struggles and sorrows and persecutions and pains and fight will be over. And this past, present and future fact of our salvation, we need to be continually taking up. I have been saved, I am being saved, and I shall be saved.

And then the final piece of armour is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. All of the previous items have been defensive pieces. Now we are introduced to the first piece that can be both defensive and offensive. A sword can both parry the blows of another sword, and attack the enemy. A Roman’s sword was like a long dagger, it was a short, stabbing sword, designed for quick and incisive attacks.

We use the Word defensively, when we hold onto its promises in faith. Every time Christ was tempted by Satan, He replied with Scripture. We defend ourselves from Satan’s blows with Scripture – what God said, what God promised, who God is.

We use the Word offensively when we correctly use and apply it in our lives and in the lives of others. The Word of God is profitable for “doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness’. It is only profitable though, when we rightly divide it. When we understand its correct interpretation, and with God’s wisdom, correctly apply it. That’s why it is the sword of the Spirit. He wrote the Word, He teaches the Word, and He correctly and wisely interprets and applies the Word.

All of these pieces of armour are supplied by God; they are God’s truth, God’s Gospel, God’s righteousness, God’s faith, God’s salvation, God’s Word. Therefore, we are to take up all of these, according to verse 18, always praying.

Have this attitude of truthfulness and readiness, with a sense of Christ’s righteousness, always taking up the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation and the Word of God, but do all this in humble dependence – prayer. It is God’s battle. It is God’s equipment. Therefore, covet God’s power.

Praying ‘always’. This is to be continuous. Prayer is woven into each part of your spiritual armour. Pray and ask in the Spirit. Allow the Spirit to lead and direct your prayers, using the Word of God. And do not leave off praying. As long as the battle continues, persevere in it for all the saints. And then Paul gets very specific. Pray for me – for boldness to speak and preach the Gospel. And so the Ephesians could know more about Paul and about what to pray for him – he sent Tychicus. Paul was intensely practical. He wanted prayer, so he sent a representative to stir it up for specifics. Our prayers cannot be pie in the sky.

Notice that these pieces of armour do not have to do with technique; they have to do with character. The pieces of armour are not techniques like pleading the blood of Jesus, casting out the spirit of laziness, or the spirit of lust, or the spirit of anger – it is Christlike character. It is not casting out demons; it is dealing with our own sin. It is not breaking generational curses; it is dealing with my sin today (Ezekiel 18)

But at the end of the day, a soldier needs to do more than just have the right attitude, and have the right armour. These are essential, but he still needs to do something. The actions of a soldier are what have been commanded.

The Actions of a Soldier

This is where we actually fight the good fight, war a good warfare. What are we to actually do?

1) Be strong in the Lord.

(6:10). What does this mean? In the Greek, it has the idea of ‘be empowered’. Be strengthened. You be strong – be tough, be powerful, but be powerful and tough and courageous in the Lord, in the power of His might. Face the enemy, in His power. It is the same thing Paul says to Timothy:

“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2Ti 2:1)

You be strong, you be courageous, you face the fight, but do so in reliance upon God. There is always that wonderful mystery of God’s power, but the Christian’s effort. God will give you strength, but you must be strong. As Israel was about to go into Canaan, seven times the command is given ‘Be strong and of a good courage’. Soldiers cannot be timid or fearful if they are to fight the good fight. They must overcome fear with faith, with the promise of power, love and a sound mind.

2) Take Up the Armour

6:11, 6:13. Continually take up the battle gear of truthfulness, righteousness, preparedness, the fact of your salvation, faith in God’s promises and the Word of God – all of it in prayer. These are all issues of character, so in other words train yourself in godliness. Keep doing the things that are used by the Spirit to build your Christlikeness. Read the Bible, meditate on it, memorise it, study it, pray, obey God’s Word, grow in devotion to Him and serve others in the local church. Keep taking up the weapons God has given you.

3) Stand.

This command is given three times in this passage in 6:11, 13, 14. It carries the idea of holding your ground, not being forced back or retreating. It has the idea of no compromise, no going back, no withdrawal and going back to sin and the world. No agreements struck with false teaching and worldliness and sin. No distractions allowed for, no deserting. It reminds us of 1 Corinthians 15:58:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Co 15:58)

The idea in verse 13 is a different word and it means to resist. There is active resistance against the various schemes of distraction, diversion, discouragement and it is the armour of God.

Notice we are to do everything we can: ‘Having done all’ then to stand – to emerge as the victors. ‘Stand’ also has the idea of the victors. We still use the term after the battle -1000 were still standing and by that we mean the survivors, and often the victors.

There are casualties in this battle. The casualties look different. Some have been hit by the arrows of discouragement and refuse to pick up the weapons any more. Some have been hit by the arrows of doubt and would rather sit down and play ‘what if’ games than enter the battle. Some have been hit by arrows of distraction, and are chasing rabbits and have broken ranks as they chase down vain controversies and foolish questions which minister strife. Some have been hit by arrows of sinful temptations, and they are down and out with besetting sins – disarmed. Some have been hit by the darts of division, and are turning their swords on fellow soldiers. Some have been hit by the darts of intimidation and are retreating in fear. God’s desire is by being strong in Him, and by continually taking up all our armour we will stand and emerge victorious.

Our last action for a soldier of Christ comes from 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (2Co 10:3-6)

4) Destroy Arguments & Capture thoughts

Paul says we do not have carnal weapons, since our war is not carnal. We must destroy strongholds and what are these strongholds? The very next verse tells us – they are mindsets, ways of thinking. Through sin, selfishness and exposure to his system, Satan creates a stronghold in an unbeliever’s mind. The attitudes, views, opinions, priorities of an unbeliever seem like impossibly fortified cities. We see them, and reckon, ‘We’ll never change that mindset’. But that’s the battle. Using the Word of God, we cast down imaginations – that is, we destroy arguments and opinions contrary to the Lord Jesus Christ. High things- proud, lofty rejections of God and self-worship – we must pull these down to the dust. We don’t do this by chanting certain incantations or through power encounters. We do this through preaching and practising the Word of God. As unbelievers hear the Word from your lips and see the Word in your life, it is a mighty weapon to cast down these arguments and opinions. And then, in its place we capture thoughts. In our own lives and minds, but also for others we seek to, as it were, capture every thought to be obedient to the Lordship of Christ. Verse 6 refers to church discipline – not just talking about righteousness, but being willing to enforce it.

This is the battle – changing people’s minds. Sin begins in the mind. Righteousness begins in the mind. Pleasing God must take place from a mental decision. It is not the mind only, but it is the control centre of everything else – the emotions and the will. We are out, not to argue, but to present the Word. Titus 1:9 puts it this way:

“Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict [the gainsayers] those who contradict.” (Tit 1:9)

That’s our mission – change minds, so as to change lives. It is not to fight demons in power encounters. It’s not to break generation curses, or try to cast out every spirit we find. It is to live out the Gospel to convince those who contradict it. That’s what it means to fight a good fight.

God has given us everything we need to fight the good fight. He’s told us what attitude to have. He’s fully equipped us with the right armour. He’s then given us commands on how to advance: Arm yourself. Be strong. Stand. Destroy arguments and opinions and capture thoughts.