Ephesians 6:10-18 July 6, 2008
The Whole Armor of God, Part 2
“Action!”
Rev. Meagan Boozer
Lets turn together to Ephesians, Chapter 6:10-18: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench 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. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
How many people here have gone to a hospital for surgery? You all know, that when you go to the hospital for surgery and they call you back to the preparation area, they will say something like this: “Please remove all of your clothes, and put this gown on with the opening in the back.” Gown. Yeah, right. I wore a gown when I went to the prom. I wore a gown on my wedding day. That thing they give you to wear for surgery is not what I would call a gown! “Please remove all of your clothes, and put on this gown.” And we comply. Why? Because we want to be well. We want to be as physically healthy as we can be.
The Apostle Paul tells us in our passage from Ephesians 6, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His power. Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Paul is telling us to put something on. “Put on the whole armor of God,” he says. Well, just like at the hospital, in order to put something on, we have to take something off – there may be things we have to take off, in order to put on the whole armor of God.
Let us pray: God of all creation, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – you have formed us and you have made us. You know everything about us. Stir up in us a hunger for your word, and a thirst for your living water. Stir it up, Lord – and bring us to your feasting table. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I’m going to get right to the point: In order to put on the whole armor of God, we have to take off anger and unforgiveness. If you are angry inside, including whether you are angry with yourself, or angry with God, in order to be able to wear the armor of God, you have to get rid of the anger. Just think of the anger as it’s own armor – it doesn’t let others completely into your life, and won’t let out the whole person God created you to be. The same is true for unforgiveness. It weighs you down like a suit of armor as well, and holds you back from fully living the abundant life. We must remember that our battle here on earth is not really against people (flesh and blood). Our battle is against the devil who is always working in and through others – sometimes by their invitation, sometimes with their permission, and sometimes without their knowing it. If you are wearing anger and unforgiveness, I’m telling you right now that the devil is working in and through you. You must take these things off in order to put on the whole armor of God.
Let me remind you that for Christians, forgiveness is not a choice based on feelings. We don’t wait to get to the point where we feel like forgiving someone – no matter what they did, or didn’t do – or said, or didn’t say. As Christians, we choose to forgive out of love and obedience to God. He has forgiven us every thing – every word, every thought, every action that has been incredibly hurtful to others. He has forgiven us and so, in response, we must forgive others. Sometimes the person we have to forgive is someone we see every day, and they don’t even know we’re holding something against them. The truth is, it’s not hurting them a bit. Unforgiveness is hurting us. We must let it go. Sometimes we have to forgive someone who’s not even on earth anymore. It’s still hurting us like a cancer inside. Sometimes we have to forgive ourselves – and sometimes we have to admit we’re mad at God, and we have to choose to forgive Him for His ways that seem so cruel at times, yet down deep, ways that we trust are loving in the long run. It’s not a sin to be angry. Jesus got angry. However, it is a sin to hold on to your anger and allow it to grow into bitterness in a way that tarnishes our witness of Christ to the world. And so, if you have anger inside of you, if you are withholding forgiveness from a person, I want to take a couple of minutes and help you let it go: “Lord of all creation, you know what’s in me. You know what I’m holding on to. [Not, please help me let go…”] I CHOOSE right now to release my anger. Please fill me with love. I CHOOSE right now to forgive. I know it’s not doing me any good – and I want to be free. I know at some level, I think that not forgiving is protecting me. But I acknowledge that this way of thinking is not from you. I choose to live freely from the weights of unforgiveness and anger. I choose it. I take it off right now to make room for the whole armor of God, for Jesus’ sake, and in His name, Amen.”
Father, I adore you. Lay my life before you.
How I love you.
Jesus, I adore you. Lay my life before you.
How I love you.
Spirit, I adore you. Lay my life before you.
How I love you.
Now, let’s take a look at what it means to “put on” the whole armor of God. Usually I don’t talk about what the original language of the Old or New Testament shows us. But, the insight that can be gained from talking about it in these couple of verses was helpful to me, and I hope will be as helpful for you. We need all the understanding we can gain to keep standing strong.
The words “put on” come from the Greek word enduo. It is the exact word that Luke used when he recorded Jesus words from Luke 24:49, “And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The word enduo refers to the act of putting on a new set of clothes! Paul uses enduo several times in his writings to symbolically depict the putting on of a “new person.” In chapter 4 of Ephesians in verse 24, Paul writes, “You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” In Colossians 3:9-10, Paul writes, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” It is significant that Paul uses the same word in telling us to put on the whole armor of God. Putting on the whole armor of God is not something we do when we feel like we’re under attack. Putting on the whole armor of God is to become your new way of existence! And Paul uses the imperative tense here. He’s not making a suggestion. Paul is issuing the strongest kind of command that can be given: Take immediate action! Put on, clothe yourself, with the whole armor of God – for it will seal in the new life, shine the light of Jesus to others, and protect you from the schemes of the devil!
Put on the whole armor of God. Notice that Paul uses the word “whole” twice in this passage: in v. 11 and in v. 13. But we cannot separate the word from the entire phrase: Put on the whole armor of God. The armor is God’s armor. God alone provides the armor. He has not provided a partial set of protective weaponry for us; he has provided a complete set. We have, from his hand, the complete outfit. Everything we need to successfully combat the schemes of the devil is ours! Nothing is lacking – because the God of all creation is a God of abundance, not a God of scarcity. And so, from God’s own hand, we have what we need to be spiritually well – to be as spiritually healthy as we can be – if we put on the whole armor of God.
The Apostle Paul was in Rome, locked up in prison, and literally bound (chained) to a Roman soldier at the time he wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus. Rome was the headquarters for the world’s most highly developed, highly advanced military machine – the Roman army. From this military base, the entire civilized world at that time had fallen prey to the Roman Empire. Paul was surrounded by military images. It was natural for the Holy Spirit to speak to Paul about being a disciple of Jesus using warfare terms. On an average Roman soldier, the suit of armor would weigh about 100 pounds. If he wasn’t strong enough to wear the whole suit, do you think he would have been advised to shed a piece or two? “You’re too tired to carry it all, Tony - just take off that helmet – you’ll be okay for a few minutes. Go ahead, Leo - take off the breastplate and get a little air to your torso.” What do you think? Would that have been advised? No way. If you weren’t strong enough to carry the whole armor, you weren’t going to make it into the Roman army.
We, too, need to put on the whole armor of God. We need the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit in order to be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. But the great news is that we don’t have to be strong in ourselves. BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN THE STRENGTH OF HIS POWER! We just have to be willing, and disciplined to put on the whole armor every day – God will give us the strength to wear it!
Finally (there’s that word!) – I want to teach a little about the devil himself. Who is our enemy? Bible scholars point to 2 Old Testament passages as a key to understanding the origin of Satan and his demons. First, Isaiah 14:11-17, “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering. How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who would not let his prisoners go home?” and also in Ezekiel 28:11-19, “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and worked in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from among the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. So I brought out fire from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
What we learn in these passages was that Satan was an angelic being of great stature in Heaven. He had a special anointing from God, but his heart became full of pride. He wanted to be like God. In fact he wanted to be above God. Therefore, he was cast out of Heaven to the earth. In Revelation 12:9 we read, “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Thus, we have the devil and his demons – all fallen angels – working out schemes to get the rest of us to join them in living Sheol – living hell – to frustrate God’s plans to save those who are perishing apart from his grace.
Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The word “wiles” comes from the Greek word “methodos.” It is a compound of the words meta and odos. Meta is a preposition which simply means “with.” The word “odos” is the Greek word for a “road.” Literally translated then, methodos (translated wiles) means “with a road.”
In English, we get the word “method” from methodos. But Rick Renner, in one of the main texts I am using for study for this series, Dressed to Kill, makes this claim, “The word methodos was carefully selected by the Holy Spirit because it tells us exactly how the devil operates, and it tells us exactly how he comes to attack and assault a believer’s mind. (Remember last week, we learned that the mind is the main point of attack in the spiritual battle.”) Contrary to popular belief, the devil does not have as many tricks in his bag as he would have you to believe. The word “wiles” (methodos) plainly means that the enemy travels on one road; he travels on one lane; or he travels on one avenue. In other words, he primarily has one trick in his bag – and he obviously has learned to use that one trick very well.”
The one trick the devil uses is alluded to in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “And we do this [forgive] so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” The word designs is often translated “devices.” Now hang on: The word designs or devices is taken from the Greek word noemata which is derived from the word nous – which is the Greek word for the “mind” or the “intellect.” However, the form noemata as used by Paul in 2 Cor. 2:11, is setting forth the idea of a deceived mind. Specifically, noemata denotes the one road plot of Satan to fill the human mind with confusion. One interpreter even stated that the word designs, or devices, bears the notion of “mind games.” Now think about this verse like this, “we are not ignorant of the mind games that Satan tries to pull on us.”
Oh yes – now we’re getting to it! Listen to 2 Cor. 10:3-5, “Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
The devil wants our minds to be held captive to his mind games. He wants the person who has been unappreciated, belittled, ignored, or even abused as a young child to believe that they are good-for-nothings. He wants to convince you that you can’t do anything great for God. He wants you to believe that you are so worthless, that you might as well abuse yourself – even kill yourself. The devil wants the person who was raped to believe he/she deserved it because they asked for it, or because they were nothing but an object to be used – instead of believing that though bad things happen to people, God can bring beauty out of the evil things people do to each other. The devil wants you to believe that because you might have had an absent, disinterested earthly father, all fathers (including your Heavenly Father) must be like that, too. This is part of why many more liberal congregations no longer will include ‘Father’ as one way to speak about and to God – they don’t want to hurt anyone by reminding them of their own earthly fathers. The problem is, Jesus referred to God as Father, and he taught us to pray, “Our Father…” We can’t pick and choose what we keep and what we throw away from the Bible - we must clearly teach it in love, and encourage everyone to embrace the love of a perfect, faithful, Heavenly Father. There’s great comfort in that.
The devil wants you to panic when your finances are falling apart. He wants you to worry to the point of making yourself sick. He wants to take a moment-in-time in your life, and cause you to be afraid every single time you experience a similar sound, a similar smell, a similar level of darkness. The devil wants you to be imprisoned by his mind games. This is his one road to stealing, killing, and destroying any hope you have for abundant life.
Paul tells us to take every thought, hold it up to the light that God provides, and if it lines up with God’s truth, let it stay and feed you. If it doesn’t line up with God’s truth (in other words, if it condemns you and accuses you so that you feel ashamed and torn down, instead of built up), crush that thought immediately with one little word: the name of Jesus. The God of all creation, created you. Before the beginning of time, he knew you. He knew your name before your parents picked it out. He knew what you would look like. He knew the sound of your voice. And he designed you to recognize the sound of his voice. His love for you is everlasting. His plan for you is amazing. He sings over you with joy, because as a unique human creation, he takes great delight in you.
The anger that you took off, keep it off. The unforgiveness that you released, don’t take it back. And, take off any clothing that has been woven in the lies of the devil. Let your Heavenly Father sing over you and tell you the truth about who you are in Christ. Keep praying the warfare prayer. Then next week, we’ll be ready to begin learning about each piece of armor that God provides for us. As we finish this time of teaching, let us listen together to a song by Matt Redman – The Father’s Song.
I have heard so many songs,
listened to a thousand tongues.
But there is one that sounds above them all –
the Father’s song, the Father’s love.
You sing it over me, and for eternity
it’s written on my heart.
Heaven’s perfect melody, the Creator’s symphony.
You are singing over me – the Father’s song –
Heaven’s perfect mystery.
The King of Love has sent for me –
and now You’re singing over me.
The Father’s song.
Amen.
The Whole Armor of God, Part 2
“Action!”
Rev. Meagan Boozer
Lets turn together to Ephesians, Chapter 6:10-18: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench 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. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
How many people here have gone to a hospital for surgery? You all know, that when you go to the hospital for surgery and they call you back to the preparation area, they will say something like this: “Please remove all of your clothes, and put this gown on with the opening in the back.” Gown. Yeah, right. I wore a gown when I went to the prom. I wore a gown on my wedding day. That thing they give you to wear for surgery is not what I would call a gown! “Please remove all of your clothes, and put on this gown.” And we comply. Why? Because we want to be well. We want to be as physically healthy as we can be.
The Apostle Paul tells us in our passage from Ephesians 6, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His power. Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Paul is telling us to put something on. “Put on the whole armor of God,” he says. Well, just like at the hospital, in order to put something on, we have to take something off – there may be things we have to take off, in order to put on the whole armor of God.
Let us pray: God of all creation, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – you have formed us and you have made us. You know everything about us. Stir up in us a hunger for your word, and a thirst for your living water. Stir it up, Lord – and bring us to your feasting table. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I’m going to get right to the point: In order to put on the whole armor of God, we have to take off anger and unforgiveness. If you are angry inside, including whether you are angry with yourself, or angry with God, in order to be able to wear the armor of God, you have to get rid of the anger. Just think of the anger as it’s own armor – it doesn’t let others completely into your life, and won’t let out the whole person God created you to be. The same is true for unforgiveness. It weighs you down like a suit of armor as well, and holds you back from fully living the abundant life. We must remember that our battle here on earth is not really against people (flesh and blood). Our battle is against the devil who is always working in and through others – sometimes by their invitation, sometimes with their permission, and sometimes without their knowing it. If you are wearing anger and unforgiveness, I’m telling you right now that the devil is working in and through you. You must take these things off in order to put on the whole armor of God.
Let me remind you that for Christians, forgiveness is not a choice based on feelings. We don’t wait to get to the point where we feel like forgiving someone – no matter what they did, or didn’t do – or said, or didn’t say. As Christians, we choose to forgive out of love and obedience to God. He has forgiven us every thing – every word, every thought, every action that has been incredibly hurtful to others. He has forgiven us and so, in response, we must forgive others. Sometimes the person we have to forgive is someone we see every day, and they don’t even know we’re holding something against them. The truth is, it’s not hurting them a bit. Unforgiveness is hurting us. We must let it go. Sometimes we have to forgive someone who’s not even on earth anymore. It’s still hurting us like a cancer inside. Sometimes we have to forgive ourselves – and sometimes we have to admit we’re mad at God, and we have to choose to forgive Him for His ways that seem so cruel at times, yet down deep, ways that we trust are loving in the long run. It’s not a sin to be angry. Jesus got angry. However, it is a sin to hold on to your anger and allow it to grow into bitterness in a way that tarnishes our witness of Christ to the world. And so, if you have anger inside of you, if you are withholding forgiveness from a person, I want to take a couple of minutes and help you let it go: “Lord of all creation, you know what’s in me. You know what I’m holding on to. [Not, please help me let go…”] I CHOOSE right now to release my anger. Please fill me with love. I CHOOSE right now to forgive. I know it’s not doing me any good – and I want to be free. I know at some level, I think that not forgiving is protecting me. But I acknowledge that this way of thinking is not from you. I choose to live freely from the weights of unforgiveness and anger. I choose it. I take it off right now to make room for the whole armor of God, for Jesus’ sake, and in His name, Amen.”
Father, I adore you. Lay my life before you.
How I love you.
Jesus, I adore you. Lay my life before you.
How I love you.
Spirit, I adore you. Lay my life before you.
How I love you.
Now, let’s take a look at what it means to “put on” the whole armor of God. Usually I don’t talk about what the original language of the Old or New Testament shows us. But, the insight that can be gained from talking about it in these couple of verses was helpful to me, and I hope will be as helpful for you. We need all the understanding we can gain to keep standing strong.
The words “put on” come from the Greek word enduo. It is the exact word that Luke used when he recorded Jesus words from Luke 24:49, “And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The word enduo refers to the act of putting on a new set of clothes! Paul uses enduo several times in his writings to symbolically depict the putting on of a “new person.” In chapter 4 of Ephesians in verse 24, Paul writes, “You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” In Colossians 3:9-10, Paul writes, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” It is significant that Paul uses the same word in telling us to put on the whole armor of God. Putting on the whole armor of God is not something we do when we feel like we’re under attack. Putting on the whole armor of God is to become your new way of existence! And Paul uses the imperative tense here. He’s not making a suggestion. Paul is issuing the strongest kind of command that can be given: Take immediate action! Put on, clothe yourself, with the whole armor of God – for it will seal in the new life, shine the light of Jesus to others, and protect you from the schemes of the devil!
Put on the whole armor of God. Notice that Paul uses the word “whole” twice in this passage: in v. 11 and in v. 13. But we cannot separate the word from the entire phrase: Put on the whole armor of God. The armor is God’s armor. God alone provides the armor. He has not provided a partial set of protective weaponry for us; he has provided a complete set. We have, from his hand, the complete outfit. Everything we need to successfully combat the schemes of the devil is ours! Nothing is lacking – because the God of all creation is a God of abundance, not a God of scarcity. And so, from God’s own hand, we have what we need to be spiritually well – to be as spiritually healthy as we can be – if we put on the whole armor of God.
The Apostle Paul was in Rome, locked up in prison, and literally bound (chained) to a Roman soldier at the time he wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus. Rome was the headquarters for the world’s most highly developed, highly advanced military machine – the Roman army. From this military base, the entire civilized world at that time had fallen prey to the Roman Empire. Paul was surrounded by military images. It was natural for the Holy Spirit to speak to Paul about being a disciple of Jesus using warfare terms. On an average Roman soldier, the suit of armor would weigh about 100 pounds. If he wasn’t strong enough to wear the whole suit, do you think he would have been advised to shed a piece or two? “You’re too tired to carry it all, Tony - just take off that helmet – you’ll be okay for a few minutes. Go ahead, Leo - take off the breastplate and get a little air to your torso.” What do you think? Would that have been advised? No way. If you weren’t strong enough to carry the whole armor, you weren’t going to make it into the Roman army.
We, too, need to put on the whole armor of God. We need the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit in order to be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. But the great news is that we don’t have to be strong in ourselves. BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN THE STRENGTH OF HIS POWER! We just have to be willing, and disciplined to put on the whole armor every day – God will give us the strength to wear it!
Finally (there’s that word!) – I want to teach a little about the devil himself. Who is our enemy? Bible scholars point to 2 Old Testament passages as a key to understanding the origin of Satan and his demons. First, Isaiah 14:11-17, “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering. How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who would not let his prisoners go home?” and also in Ezekiel 28:11-19, “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and worked in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from among the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. So I brought out fire from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
What we learn in these passages was that Satan was an angelic being of great stature in Heaven. He had a special anointing from God, but his heart became full of pride. He wanted to be like God. In fact he wanted to be above God. Therefore, he was cast out of Heaven to the earth. In Revelation 12:9 we read, “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Thus, we have the devil and his demons – all fallen angels – working out schemes to get the rest of us to join them in living Sheol – living hell – to frustrate God’s plans to save those who are perishing apart from his grace.
Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The word “wiles” comes from the Greek word “methodos.” It is a compound of the words meta and odos. Meta is a preposition which simply means “with.” The word “odos” is the Greek word for a “road.” Literally translated then, methodos (translated wiles) means “with a road.”
In English, we get the word “method” from methodos. But Rick Renner, in one of the main texts I am using for study for this series, Dressed to Kill, makes this claim, “The word methodos was carefully selected by the Holy Spirit because it tells us exactly how the devil operates, and it tells us exactly how he comes to attack and assault a believer’s mind. (Remember last week, we learned that the mind is the main point of attack in the spiritual battle.”) Contrary to popular belief, the devil does not have as many tricks in his bag as he would have you to believe. The word “wiles” (methodos) plainly means that the enemy travels on one road; he travels on one lane; or he travels on one avenue. In other words, he primarily has one trick in his bag – and he obviously has learned to use that one trick very well.”
The one trick the devil uses is alluded to in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “And we do this [forgive] so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” The word designs is often translated “devices.” Now hang on: The word designs or devices is taken from the Greek word noemata which is derived from the word nous – which is the Greek word for the “mind” or the “intellect.” However, the form noemata as used by Paul in 2 Cor. 2:11, is setting forth the idea of a deceived mind. Specifically, noemata denotes the one road plot of Satan to fill the human mind with confusion. One interpreter even stated that the word designs, or devices, bears the notion of “mind games.” Now think about this verse like this, “we are not ignorant of the mind games that Satan tries to pull on us.”
Oh yes – now we’re getting to it! Listen to 2 Cor. 10:3-5, “Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
The devil wants our minds to be held captive to his mind games. He wants the person who has been unappreciated, belittled, ignored, or even abused as a young child to believe that they are good-for-nothings. He wants to convince you that you can’t do anything great for God. He wants you to believe that you are so worthless, that you might as well abuse yourself – even kill yourself. The devil wants the person who was raped to believe he/she deserved it because they asked for it, or because they were nothing but an object to be used – instead of believing that though bad things happen to people, God can bring beauty out of the evil things people do to each other. The devil wants you to believe that because you might have had an absent, disinterested earthly father, all fathers (including your Heavenly Father) must be like that, too. This is part of why many more liberal congregations no longer will include ‘Father’ as one way to speak about and to God – they don’t want to hurt anyone by reminding them of their own earthly fathers. The problem is, Jesus referred to God as Father, and he taught us to pray, “Our Father…” We can’t pick and choose what we keep and what we throw away from the Bible - we must clearly teach it in love, and encourage everyone to embrace the love of a perfect, faithful, Heavenly Father. There’s great comfort in that.
The devil wants you to panic when your finances are falling apart. He wants you to worry to the point of making yourself sick. He wants to take a moment-in-time in your life, and cause you to be afraid every single time you experience a similar sound, a similar smell, a similar level of darkness. The devil wants you to be imprisoned by his mind games. This is his one road to stealing, killing, and destroying any hope you have for abundant life.
Paul tells us to take every thought, hold it up to the light that God provides, and if it lines up with God’s truth, let it stay and feed you. If it doesn’t line up with God’s truth (in other words, if it condemns you and accuses you so that you feel ashamed and torn down, instead of built up), crush that thought immediately with one little word: the name of Jesus. The God of all creation, created you. Before the beginning of time, he knew you. He knew your name before your parents picked it out. He knew what you would look like. He knew the sound of your voice. And he designed you to recognize the sound of his voice. His love for you is everlasting. His plan for you is amazing. He sings over you with joy, because as a unique human creation, he takes great delight in you.
The anger that you took off, keep it off. The unforgiveness that you released, don’t take it back. And, take off any clothing that has been woven in the lies of the devil. Let your Heavenly Father sing over you and tell you the truth about who you are in Christ. Keep praying the warfare prayer. Then next week, we’ll be ready to begin learning about each piece of armor that God provides for us. As we finish this time of teaching, let us listen together to a song by Matt Redman – The Father’s Song.
I have heard so many songs,
listened to a thousand tongues.
But there is one that sounds above them all –
the Father’s song, the Father’s love.
You sing it over me, and for eternity
it’s written on my heart.
Heaven’s perfect melody, the Creator’s symphony.
You are singing over me – the Father’s song –
Heaven’s perfect mystery.
The King of Love has sent for me –
and now You’re singing over me.
The Father’s song.
Amen.
