Paul advises believers in Ephesians 6 to "be strong in the Lord" and equip themselves with the "whole armor of God" to withstand spiritual challenges and the deceptive schemes of the devil, emphasizing the importance of divine strength and spiritual readiness. This armor metaphorically represents spiritual virtues that protect Christians, enabling them to stand firm against numerous adversaries in a battle for faith and righteousness.
Shawn teaches about the necessity of putting on the whole armor of God to stand firm against the deceptive and cunning strategies of the devil, highlighting that the struggle is not with physical entities but against spiritual forces like principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness. He emphasizes that the warfare Christians face is spiritual, requiring engagement through spiritual means rather than physical confrontation, adhering to the approach modeled by Jesus when dealing with challenges rooted in spiritual influences.
Shawn's teaching explains that Satan, referred to as the "world seizer" or "Kosmokratuer," gained dominion over the earth following the fall of Adam, manipulating humanity into a state of darkness and sin, which was disrupted through the life, ministry, and resurrection of Christ, particularly as illustrated in the Book of Ephesians. This transition of power is highlighted by Christ’s triumph over Satan’s temptations, a victory that symbolizes the eventual dethronement of the "prince of this world," although remnants of Satan's influence persisted until the completion of Christ’s work on the cross.
Jesus's death, resurrection, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit signify the defeat and judgment of Satan, described metaphorically as being bound for a symbolic period. Following this victory, peace allowed for the early church's growth, evidenced in Scriptures like Acts 2 and Colossians 2:15, illustrating Christ's triumph over evil powers and the subsequent spread of the Gospel.
Revelation 20 describes a period when Satan was bound, coinciding with the emergence of the apostolic church after Pentecost, during which believers who partook in the "first resurrection" reigned with Christ for a metaphorical thousand years, emphasizing the triumph of righteousness. Following this era, Satan was briefly freed to deceive again, leading to a final conflict against the saints, which culminated in his ultimate defeat and eternal punishment, marking the establishment of God’s ultimate judgment and rule.
In Shawn's teaching, Revelation describes the transition from the end of an old age to the establishment of a spiritual kingdom where God dwells among people, eradicating sorrow, death, and pain, as foretold by prophets and affirmed by Jesus and Paul. This kingdom, marked by the defeat of Satan and death, fulfills the promise that Christ will ultimately subdue all enemies and deliver the kingdom to God, to be all in all.
Evil in the world is not directly created by Satan but is the absence of God, similar to how cold is the absence of warmth and darkness is the absence of light; this darkness, present since the fall of Satan and Adam, fills anything not illuminated by God's love and light. James 1:13-14 states that individuals are tempted by their own desires, not by God, implicating personal responsibility in the face of evil.
Paul's Final Advice
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SILENCE
So we have been through all sorts of advice from Paul on how the saints in that day and age should live and relate one to another. Some – even most – of the advice has a place in our day today. This brings us to the last bit of advice he gives to wrap the epistle up, and so he says beginning at verse 10:
Ephesians 6:10-12
December 22nd 2019
Milk
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Be Strong in the Lord
Alright, let’s jump back to verse 10 where Paul begins with a finally. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, (he says) be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. After having instructed them on how to interact with each other, Paul now speaks to them as individuals, and he tells them straight up to be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might. The implication is not to stand in the power of their own but to be strong in Him through His power. That in order to be successful in the things he has said to them – To submit to one another. To love their lives. That as fathers to not provoke their children. That if slaves to obey their masters, and if masters to treat their slaves well. AND to be able to withstand the onslaught of trials falling upon them from several external sources – especially the roaring devil who was about to be loosed because he knew his time was short.
And so he gives them advice – and it is all based on the Lord and His power which it through thing of the Spirit, and NOT the flesh. This is a final bit of advice before he closes this epistle. And so he therefore exhorts them to be strong. That is how this begins – be STRONG in the Lord. And he will articulate to them how to actually do this by appealing to “spiritually driven things” (remember this) but describing them in terms of physical armor. So his first directive is for them to be "strong in the Lord," is,
To be courageous in his cause and to rely on his strength which is discovered in part by trusting His promises. And in so doing they would tap into His power, and then he adds
The Armour of God
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Of course Paul has resorted to the weapons of an actual soldier to describe the way these believers were to arm themselves against their enemies. The whole armor of God speaks to every piece so that no part of the soldier is exposed and susceptible to being overtaken which would result in them falling in battle. The idea of the fallen in war is being appealed to and so the idea of standing and remaining standing is appealed to here.
Of course the meaning of the whole panoply or armor of God does not mean that God wears such armor but that these armaments are what God has provided as a means to protect the Christian soldier – offensively and defensively. We note that the armor is of God and not of the flesh. We note that we are to put all of the armor on and not just part. And then we see that Paul’s reasoning for suggesting this is so that they (and or we) might be “able to stand” (which means also, to not join the fallen.)
In that day, and perhaps even in ours, the foes of the faith were so numerous and well equipped that unless they were fully clothed and equipped with the Divine armor victory will have been impossible for any. This idea is repeated over and over again in the New Testament; that there was a war for the souls of the Saints and the overall bride and without constant diligence the Saints would fall. Jesus goes so far as to say that if the times were not cut short the very elect would fall. And it opens us up to the notion that once a believer always believes is not supported by the New Testament.
The Whole Armor of God
On the whole armor of God to prevent them from falling. There is a reason for that. So he says:
11 Put on the whole armor of God, THAT ye may be able to stand (what out in a field looking glorious? No. That they may be able to stand) “against the wiles of the devil.”
The word translated "wiles" (meyodeia) means something that is “traced out through a method” or that which is methodized. Therefore it speaks to well-laid skills or cunning. The term occurs only twice in the New Testament – here and in Ephesians 4:14. Because it is easier to face a full outright attack than cunning strategized warfare, there are a number of weapons of war that God provides and Paul describes here for us.
The idea here seems to be that Satan or forces like him do not engage in open warfare. They are covert, approaching in darkness, using strategy and manipulations, a multiplicity of devices rather than just a fight, and so implicit to his or their ways is deception and traps. Sort of like it's one thing to step into a ring to fight an opponent head-on versus fighting on who is running and hiding in a forest – a very different battle as the latter includes traps, ambushes, tricks, surprises, and all the rest of the tactics. So Paul was warning them against such. Are the warnings applicable to believers today? I think so – because our flesh is very capable of creating all manner of strategies where we are able to delude and deceive ourselves.
Wrestling Against Principalities
At this point Paul makes a super important point relative to the war being waged on the saints then and the armaments he implores them to equip themselves with. So, he says:
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The For that starts this verse off is in relation to the verse before where he speaks of the wiles of the devil. Here the For speaks to an exception, referencing the wiles of the devil and then reminding his readers who and what their preparation is aimed at: FOR IT'S NOT, FOR we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood.
The better Greek is, "There is not to us a wrestling with flesh and blood." In all probability, there is an allusion to the ancient games of Greece which included wrestling and which Paul mentions in 1st Corinthians 9:25. The Greek word here specifically means a struggle, fight, combat, and Paul makes it clear that the Christian combat is NOT against flesh and blood – or other people. Not with men or women. Oh, to embrace this from the heart, right? That people are not our enemy – in reality. They are moved and driven by things, forces, and pasts that require a defense and or an offense on our part as a means to deal with them in love – whether tough love or direct love or whatever.
Struggle Against Spiritual Wickedness
This is understood by looking at the life of Jesus and how he dealt with people. He realized that some were demonically driven – and engaged with them as such. He realized that some were beyond his help – like Herod – and said nothing to them. He realized that some were imprisoned by forces that if removed they would be free and good – and he healed them. But his warfare was always against powers through spiritual means, not the physical and not against flesh and blood.
Anytime someone attacks you verbally or even physically, they are the one disturbed inside, and who are not operating by the Spirit but the flesh. So we wrestle NOT with flesh and blood, BUT AGAINST . . . “principalities.”
The word is “arche” here, meaning the primary form of a thing, the principal rulers, which appear to refer to demons, specifically Satan and the leading captains of angels over the ranks of lesser who lost their first primary estate (was we say). The wrestling match Christians engage in is here with such. The question then becomes, how or what does that wrestling match look like? It’s all spiritual, as we don’t wrangle with devils or spirit beings – we engage with them spiritually. So that is principalities. Paul adds, “powers,” again, presumably the powers that principalities maintain and then he adds that Christians then wrestled “against the rulers of the darkness" of this world.
The Role of Darkness and Satan in the World
The word translated rulers here is a great one: KOS-MOK-RAT-OR. With KOSMOS being the world and Krater being something that seizes – so against the world seizer of the darkness of this world. Darkness is always a symbol of ignorance and blindness in scripture, of a condition or place where God is not. Darkness is also a description of misery, fear, and even sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace..
The world seizer of course is Satan and I think this is a direct reference to him. Interestingly, the word arche translated principalities seems to speak in the plural, as if there are more than one arche in the world of darkness. Something to think about.
Since the earth, due to the fall, became dark, wretched, ignorant, and sinful—and was in the control of Satan—the Kosmokratuer—the warfare Paul tells them is with him. The question is whether this reign and its rulers continue to maintain power in this world or if that was broken and overcome by Christ, his victory and return. The very natural assumption is that Satan still has a reign, and it is very easy to make when we consider the diabolical actions people and powers make in the world today.
Satan's Influence and Power
I personally WANT to ascribe it all to Satan still being in control and therefore Christians having to still wrestle against him and his forces. But I cannot for the life of me embrace this relative to what the scripture says and while I covered this in our Meat study a few weeks ago, the information is pertinent and therefore applicable to today’s study in Ephesians.
He was created right, but of His own freewill, fell. That something – whether external to him or intrinsic to him by having free will – led him to rebellion against God and those created in His image. And that he somehow retained power from his former elevated position, or derived power from another dark source, that enabled him to influence, sway and in the end, reign over deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. in the human realm – physical and spiritual. Most believe that this power was enabled once he got Man, created in God’s image, to rebel against him – which occurred in the garden of Eden. There, as men explain it, Satan gained the title deed to the earth and realms of human beings, causing a rift between God and Man and forever holding humankind captive due to the effects of the Fall. I wonder, that in the presence of the Law of Moses, which Paul says is death, if Satan specifically was able to accuse humankind, and played a key role in the relations God had with the only nation He called His children – the Children of Israel. What we do know is that as a result of the first Adam choosing to rebel against God, and for listening to the voice of Satan, all human beings were subject to spiritual and physical death. Until???
The Role of Christ
Until Christ came. So, what did Jesus actually do when he entered into this realm, ministry, then death and resurrection? We know that after Jesus was washed and anointed King and Priest prepared to enter His ministry (meaning baptized in water) that He entered into the wilderness and was tempted of Satan. And we know that Satan took the lead and promised him all sorts of stuff if he would comply with His wishes. This was whom Paul called the Second Adam facing and overcoming temptation at the hands of the one who owned the title deed to the earth.
Satan was not victorious in this like he was with Adam and left Jesus alone for a season – actually had to leave Him alone as Jesus had won dominion over His own person by rejecting his temptations and gained dominance over Satan and His legions – as we saw over the course of His ministry. But Satan still retained some power as the victory then was not complete. That is why that even in Jesus name the disciples couldn’t cast out the demons that were a long time in the possessed man.
But even before going to the cross and taking on all the temptations and trial Satan could throw at him, Jesus said in
John 12:31: “Now is the judgment of this kosmos: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
The next few days (future passive from that day when he said this to a few days in the future) is the judgement of this world. And then will the “prince of this world” kosmos – (as Satan was the Prince over the whole world) – be
Understanding Satan's Judgement
Jesus is speaking of His death and resurrection when Satan would be cast out because two chapters after saying this (in John 14) Jesus says, before heading to the cross:
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me (no place in Him – but He will try and get one, won’t he? When?)
In the next important garden scene where Satan will appear – the Garden of Gethsemane, to tempt the second Adam. In chapter 16 of John Jesus says that Satan, when the Holy Spirit will come to the earth (meaning in Acts chapter 2 and the day of Pentecost) that it will do three things:
John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they (the Jews) believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more (until He returns), and
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
The Role of the Holy Spirit
That last verse which tells us plainly that when the Holy Spirit of God comes to earth that it would reprove (prove) the KOSMOS of sin (by showing that the Jews put Jesus to death) and would prove righteousness (again to the world- how?) because Jesus would ascend to His father and disappear from their presence) and of judgment because the Prince of the Kosmos would then and there be judged. This is written in the PERFECT PASSIVE INDICATIVE and it means a statement of fact that “will be true” at the time of the Holy Spirit’s arrival. So in that day Satan would be judged. That is what Jesus says and what he also alludes to here in chapter 11 of Luke when he says: (listen carefully)
Luke 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when “a stronger man than he” shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.”
The Victory of Jesus Over Satan
Tying this all together we learn the following: Jesus had victory over Satan’s temptations of Him as the Second Adam in the Wilderness. Jesus said that Satan, the Prince of this world was going to be cast out. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit arrived that Satan would be judged – and using His parable related to a stronger one overcoming him and spoiling his house, I concur that this binding occurred once Satan was judged, then bound for a period of time which Revelation calls 1000 years.
That 1000 years (which to a Jew was an indeterminate amount of time and NOT actually, literally 1000 years, just as Psalm 50:10 says: “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” So, 1000 in Hebrew writing is a representational number, not a literal one. And I suggest that at the cross and resurrection Jesus has His second victory over Satan, and when the Holy Spirit was sent to the world because of that victory to live in the hearts of believers (as illustrated in Acts 2) that here Satan was judged. And once Judges Satan was bound – for an indeterminate period of time.
This is why there was a time of peace for the establishment of the nascent church shortly after the death of Steven, and the spread of the Good News was possible. It is also why we read passages in the New Testament from Paul who wrote to them/then about Christ:
Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
And 2nd Timothy 1:10 speaking of the arrival of the Messiah, Paul says: But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
And why the Writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.
And then speaking of the ascended Christ, Peter said:
1st Peter 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
So what Satan totally and forever abolished after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus? Actually, Revelation helps lay out what actually took place.
The Binding and Loosing of Satan
Revelation 20:1-3, written to the seven actual churches in Asia Minor that day, describes his fate after Jesus has had these two initial victories and the coming of the Holy Spirit, saying to the churches in that day:
Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the ethnicities (or tribes) no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
And then we read a description of what things were like during the period that Satan was bound, which was from Pentecost until the indeterminate period of time (called 1000 years) was completed and Satan would be loosed for a little season as it says: 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived (as righteous beings given holy resurrected bodies) and reigned with Christ (from above) a thousand years (or during the age that Satan was bound).
This was the period between the Day of Pentecost and right before Satan was loosed again. And John adds 5. But “the rest of the dead” those who were still is the prison part of Sheol) lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
The First Resurrection
And John adds a description about them saying in the next verse: 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. This is a description of the believers in the nascent apostolic church who were faithful and righteous and were part of the first resurrection.
And then we read, in secular history too, that things started to fall apart – not only for believers but for Jews too. This is covered in the next verses following in Revelation which say:
Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison (again for a little season), 8 And shall go out to deceive the ethnicities or tribes which are in the four quarters of the land, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. This is the battle that would come and involved the entire Roman army coming against Israel especially Jerusalem in that day. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Revelation chapter 12:12 says to the believers about Satan in that day: “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” After Satan, who being released and full of wrath because he knew “His time was short to tempt and try people away from allegiance to God through Christ”
The Final Judgment
Revelation 20:10 then reads, in connection to Jesus returning to Jerusalem, as promised, with the final and ultimate victory over all things, rescuing His faithful bride and reigning judgment down on His own who put Him to death, says: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Then we read the following about all those who were part of that day and age: In verse 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of
Revelation of a New Kingdom
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
That was the ultimate end of that age and day and all those involved in the setting up of the New Kingdom. And what does it look like? All we have to do is turn to the very next chapter in Revelation as it reads:
A New Heaven and a New Earth
Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth (which is Spiritual where God reigns over the hearts of individuals): for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away (which was former and material) and there was no more sea (no more brazen sea which sat outside the temple). 2 And I John saw the holy city, the new JerusalemThe spiritual reality of God's fulfilled presence with humanity—replacing Sheol after 70 A.D., coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (This is an indirect quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34 where God describes the age we are living in today).
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: (in connection to the Law which was a former thing, as he adds) for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (another reference to Jeremiah 31:21-34
And then John speaks of those then who had been warned and warned and warned to turn to Jesus in that day, before it was too late, saying:
The Destiny of the Unbelieving
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
This is a write up of everything that was to happen in the wrapping up of that former age, which includes the destiny of Satan, the accuser of the brethren, sheol, the covered place, by and through the complete victory Jesus had over it – defined by Satan, the Law, the prophets, death and hell.
It was all warned of by the prophets, it was emphasized by John the Baptist, it was taught and described in detail by Jesus on the Mount of Olives, and it was repeatedly described as getting closer and closer, with the promise of Jesus coming out of the Holy of Holies with reward and judgement for His own, whom He came to save at His coming.
Speaking of His coming, Paul says to the people of Corinth specifically:
1st Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he says “all things are put under him,” it is obvious that he is excluded which did put all things under him.” 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
From this we know that all death is destroyed in Christ relative to His
Understanding Evil and Its Origins
realm – which is spiritual. Both Spiritual death and the second death – which is the Lake of Fire. And that God is now all in all.
And in all of this we have read the chronological beginning and end of Satan, hell, and death for all the world thereafter as death and hell were both cast into the Lake of Fire due to the consummate victory Jesus had over Satan and his reign.
The Nature of Evil
Many people wonder: If Satan is over then how and why all the evil in the world. I submit that it is the result of true evil – which is the absence of God. This evil was what caused Satan to fall in the first place. It was the evil that caused Adam to fall before falling. Satan was an active agent for this evil, this darkness – but he was not himself the originator of it. And anything absent God is filled with it. God turns them over to it. Perhaps it is not an entity with personality, but like cold, is just the absence of warmth; like dark, it is the absence of light. And it is always there – as eternal as God – ready to fill the hearts and minds of anything and anyone not filled with light, and warmth and love – which is God.
Insight from the Book of James
James says it plainly:
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Upcoming Discussion
We will continue forward with these verses in Ephesians six next week.
Questions/Comments
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