Sermon for MHBC (15 May 2022). You can watch on our website or on Facebook or YouTube. Live at 11:00am on Sundays.
The Church’s Position
There is a real enemy who hates goodness and beauty and everything that gives glory to God. The devil is the catalyst for the corruption of creation, and throughout Scripture, we see the devil’s continued efforts to destroy creation. Consider two verses that describe his character.
In John 8:44, Jesus says to the religious leaders, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning.” Jesus characterizes the devil as a murderer. What do murderer’s do? They destroy God’s creation. Similarly, Jesus says in John 10:10 that “[t]he thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Steal, kill, and destroy—that is a description of the devil’s work.
There are numerous examples in Scripture about the devil’s destructive desire. Consider the OT examples of children being sacrificed to pagan gods. Child sacrifice is roundly rejected by the God of the Bible (e.g. Jer 32:35). Psalm 106:37 recognizes how this is caught up in the spiritual realm because it says that these sacrifices were given to demons.
From the NT, we have the exorcism stories. In Mark 5, Jesus meets a man with many demons. This man lives in the tombs, cutting himself with stones. Self-harm is part of the devil’s destroying plan. When the demons see Jesus, they beg to be cast into a herd of pigs. When Jesus permits this, the demons enter the pigs, and immediately they rush off a cliff into the water and 2000 pigs drown. Another one is in Mark 9. Jesus’s disciples are unable to cast out a demon in a young man. Jesus asks the father how long this has been happening to his son. The father says, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him.” Notice the demon’s desire is to destroy life.
But chief among the devil’s desires is to destroy the church.
Last week, we saw Paul say that God is displaying his wisdom to the spiritual powers and authorities, and God is doing that display through the church. The church’s role puts her in a dangerous situation. There is a real enemy who hates goodness and beauty and everything that gives glory to God. And because God is using the church to advance the redemption of creation, Satan hates the church. The powers at work behind the scenes hate the church.
In Revelation 12, John has a vision of a great red dragon knocking down a third of the stars with his tail. Then, he pursues a pregnant woman, John says, in order to devour her child. After this, a cosmic war breaks out. The dragon is thrown down to earth. And John says he comes down to the earth in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short. He continues his pursuit of the woman. In Rev 12:17, we read, “Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Obviously, this passage is difficult, and interpreters make different suggestions. Some see this as a future event. Others, like myself, are inclined to take this as a description of the past, and, in some ways, the present. But the principle is the same. The devil wants to destroy God’s people, the church. This is precisely what Peter says in 1 Peter 5, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”
But God has positioned his church on the frontline of a cosmic war. Think about the language in Ephesians. In chapter 2, we are told that through Christ, the power of sin that enslaved us has been broken, and God, without our help, raised us from death and then (don’t miss this) God seated us with Christ in the heavenly places (2:6).
In chapter 6, we are told about a war or a struggle that we are engaged in. Listen to Eph 6:12: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Put those two thoughts together. If we are currently seated or positioned in the heavenly places, and if there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, then we have been purposely positioned on the frontline of a cosmic war. The key player of God’s campaign against evil is the church.
Jon made a helpful connection on this point. In the opening of the book of Job, we see a gathering of divine beings. Satan shows up to that meeting. The LORD asks Satan what he has been doing. Satan says, “He has been roaming the earth.” Essentially, he is looking for opportunities to rob God of God’s glory. He hates it. You might recall that the LORD’s response is: “Have you considered my servant Job?” The LORD uses Job to show Satan that the LORD will reclaim his creation from the hands of evil. So it is with the church.
God’s Plan
Look at Eph 3:11 with me. In v. 10, Paul says that the wisdom of God is being displayed through the church to the powers. And v. 11 tells us that that was God’s plan all along. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Note that this was not plan B for God. This was an eternal purpose. This is important especially when we are talking about spiritual warfare. God is sovereign over time and creation. His plans for this world were not foiled. Let me put it this way. Before God uttered the first creative word, he saw all of time. He is not surprised by evil in his good creation.
Also note that this purpose is accomplished in Christ Jesus. Christianity begins and ends with Christ. If we neglect the work of Christ at any point, we are talking about something other than Christianity. Every part of God’s plan to redeem creation is accomplished in Christ.
And when grasp that point, we see our benefits. Look at v. 12: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. In Christ, the door to life has been flung wide open. Once were enslaved to sin, to the corruption of creation, once we were disconnected from the living God, our creator and the source of all life. But in Christ, God has broken the shackles of sin, Satan, and death, and God has brought us into his people so that we might be what we were created to be, reflections of God in all creation.
Also in the context of spiritual warfare, this boldness and access that we have to the Father provides us with the sustenance we need to endure the battle. And please note that such sustenance is not available through works. Our tools for the battle are not our own efforts. They are the tools Christ has won for us. We see that at the end of the verse: through our faith in him. This is actually a tricky verse because it can mean what the ESV has here. But it could also mean through Christ’s faithfulness. In any case, don’t miss the fact that the gospel is about Christ’s action on our behalf.Only when we know that Christ has accomplished what we could never accomplish are we able to talk about how we stand on the frontline.
Battle Tactics
Look at v. 13: So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Here we have the most basic application of these verses. Don’t lose heart. Paul writes this from prison. You know the readers are discouraged. But he says, “Look at the big picture.” There’s a cosmic warfare happening. My suffering is actually not a setback. Instead, it is the way God is advancing his kingdom against the strongholds of Satan.
So Paul says, “Look at the eternal plan of God in Christ Jesus.” See the benefits we have. We have access. We are the children of God. All of that is accomplished by Christ. So keep Christ before you. Keep your eyes on what he has done, on what he has won for us.
When I first started playing baseball, nobody on my little league team wanted to be the catcher. I guess it looks dangerous or something, so I volunteered, and I found out pretty quickly that it’s more than catching the ball while sitting in a squat. In fact, baseball isn’t a particularly rough sport, especially compared to some others, but catching is unique. The one player on the field who is bound to be beat up is the catcher. See one of the catcher’s main priorities is to keep the ball in front of you by any means necessary. In the same way, the Christian life is keeping Christ in front of us—to use the biblical language, looking to Christ the founder and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2).
And just as catchers have equipment to withstand the hits, Christ has won armor for believers to withstand the assaults on the frontline. Look at Eph 6:11: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Paul repeats the same idea in v. 13: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. How do we take the hits without getting rolled over? By taking up the whole armor of God. Then we can stand firm.
Lots of energy has been spent on deciphering the various pieces of spiritual armor. But I want to make a simple point. Look at this armor. Every piece has been won for us by Christ. Christ is the key to all that is true. Christ has won our righteousness. He is our peace. His faithfulness is the object of our faith and hope. Salvation is in no other name but the name of Jesus. He is the true word of God who reveals the Father to us. And it is through him and in his name that we have received the Spirit and have access to pray to Almighty God. So put on Christ. Lean into him. Meditate on his works.
Exhortation
Let me close with an exhortation. In his magisterial work, The Christian in Complete Armour, William Gurnall uses language that I want to turn into a question: Would you dare to be holy in spite of men and devils?[1] Holiness is derived from what God has done in Christ. Holiness is our calling. We have been positioned as the frontline troops of God’s campaign against evil. It will take great courage. It will take much courage to stand on the frontlines in Richmond, not being sidetracked by false gospels like moralism and self-righteousness. Nor can we allow our fear to keep us from looking to Christ. We must pray and petition our Father to give us greater faith and greater boldness to stand resolute in Christ.
[1] Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, modernized and abridged (Banner of Truth Trust), 1:26.