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INTRODUCTION
We come to our last in our series of sermons on this marvellous book of Ephesians. In this final section we
have been looking at our enemy and we have been looking at how to overcome the devil so that we are able to stand against the devil's schemes. To do that we must put on the whole armour of God, which involves the
belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and gospel shoes on our feet.
In addition to this armour we need to take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. The last
piece of armour that we did not have time to consider last time is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE (v 17)
Of the six pieces of armour mentioned the sword is the only one, which can be used for attack as well as
defence. Now we are told that the sword "is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The reference to the "word of God" can include the spoken word but it seems clear that its chief meaning is to the Holy
Scriptures. God's written word is God breathed and the agent in the writing of it; is of course the Holy Spirit who moved upon the writers so that the very words that they wrote were indeed the words of God.
It is still today the weapon that God uses to cut through people's defences and objections so that it goes
right into the consciences of men and women to spiritually awaken them from their deadness and sleepiness. It is of course His word but we are to use his sword so that it will be effective.
We can use the word of God for resisting the temptations placed in our way by Satan. Do you remember this is
how Jesus used the sword of the Spirit? The devil very cleverly misquoted scripture to Jesus in order to get Jesus to obey him but Jesus knew his bible and quoted Scripture to the devil and we read "the devil left
him" (Matthew 4:11).
He had failed in his attempt to sidetrack our Saviour and Jesus victory was accomplished by taking the sword
of the Spirit and using it against the devil.
That is how we are to use the Scriptures. It is a subtle tactic of the devil to quote Scripture to us
scripture that is taken out of context but scripture that sounds so convincing. He tells us to obey it for it is God's word isn't it?
Sadly there are many Christians who have listened to his voice and who have strayed from the clear
evangelical faith because they have followed some text of scripture presented to them out of context.
It could be that some Christians have fallen into the devil's trap through a misunderstanding of a
Scriptural passage, which the devil has encouraged us in. We believe that we are following the Lord but really we have fallen for one of the devil's schemes.
The general rule is that if my interpretation goes against the general evangelical interpretation, then my
interpretation is probably false. Likewise we must remember that a verse of scripture taken out of context is a pretext.
This is why Christians must know their bibles. I am deeply saddened when God's people who have been on the
Christian pathway for many years seem to know so little about the bible. They lack any clear framework for interpreting the bible and they seem to be content with a very limited knowledge of God's word. Such
Christians have fallen for one of the devil's schemes.
For our enemy knows that if he can get us to stop reading the bible or at least to read it carelessly and to
read it without consideration or study then he will be delighted for he knows that we are wide open for his many temptations. We live in a day when Evangelical Christians say that the bible is the word of God yet
our habits of reading it and studying it are so shabby that what we do often contradicts what we say is true about the bible.
Let's be honest when was the last time we studied the bible personally? I don't mean reading it but I mean
studying it with possibly a commentary and other bible aids in order to try to master what a passage says or a book is all about? I mean we rightly condemn the old Roman Catholic view that interpretation should be
left to the Priest but the truth is that so many evangelicals do that in practise they depend on the Elders or Pastor to teach them the bible.
Now that of course is one reason why God has appointed Elders but that is not a substitute for serious study
of God's word for ourselves. Is it any wonder that as Christians, we so easily fall into sin when we know the bible so little? Please let me encourage you to start reading and studying God's word with seriousness,
surely if we believe this is God's word then we will want to know what God is saying. That my dear friend takes hard work and time.
We live in an instant society but I can assure you that there is nothing instant about knowing the bible it
takes effort and hard work and years of devotion to get to know God's word. But the truth is that as we get to know and understand the word of God then we will begin to get to know the God of the word.
There is a false spirituality that says that as we read the bible we must expect a bible verse to jump out
at us and that is God's word for you for that day. Many of the daily devotional books seem to take this approach. There are occasions when God does seem to allow a verse to jump out at us but that verse should never
be taken out of its context so that it contradicts other passages of Scripture or so that it leads us in directions that are simply foolish.
Such an approach to scripture is I believe one of the devil's schemes for it stops us from series study of
the bible and uses it; a bit like the old-fashioned promise boxes.
God demands from us time to study and consider God's word. We live in an age when we have so many bible aids
to help us in our study yet sadly I think we live in an age when so few Christians seem to be serious about the study of the word of God.
The result is that we are left with very little defence against the schemes of the devil. But O if we know
our bibles we can take it and use it against the evil one when he or his followers come and tempt us to disobey it or to take it out of its original context.
But we also need the sword of the Spirit not just to defend ourselves against our enemy but as a weapon to
advance the gospel. In other words we must use it in our evangelism. We must have complete confidence in the bible knowing that it is the word of God and that it has power to prick people's consciences and to impart
spiritual life as the Holy Spirit uses it for his purposes.
Therefore all our evangelism as a church must be word centred; we must speak the word and allow the word by
the Spirit to do its work in the hearts of men and women. Now please do not think that you have to know your bible well to use the bible in evangelism. Perhaps you have been a little convicted about how little you
know your bible and therefore as a consequence you are saying to yourself I can't speak for the Lord because I don't know the bible very well.
I might say the wrong thing and do more harm than good. Well without down playing your need to know God's
word better and I want to encourage you to take the challenge seriously we must not allow that to stop us using God's word in our witness and evangelism. God's word is active and sharper than any two edged sword
(Hebrews 4:12).
Therefore we must use it the best we know how so that God by his Spirit will take that word and accomplish
his purposes in the hearts and minds of people.
We all know something of the bible. No matter how little you think you know you know enough to share with
others. How do I know that? Well if you are saved you must at least understand that you are a sinner in need of saving? If that is all you know then tell others, you will also know how you are saved by the work of
Jesus on the cross. If that is all you know then tell others. If you know nothing else then learn John 3:16 and quote it and explain it to others for in that verse you have the gospel in a nutshell. But whatever
else we do we must use God's word in our witness for this is God's method of freeing people from the slavery that they are in, a slavery to sin and to Satan and to the world. God advances his kingdom and adds to his
church through the word of God.
It is called the sword of the Spirit for although we must speak it and witness to its truth it is the work
of the Spirit who takes it and applies it to the hearts and souls of men and women and boys and girls within our world. The devil cannot stand against the Holy Spirit working through the Holy Scriptures.
It is by the proclamation of God's word that minds are enlightened, lives are changed and conversions take
place. All God work is done by God's word and what is not done by God's word is not God's work.
This is why our evangelism in our church must be word centred. We can do many other things to bridge the gap
between the church and the unbelieving world but we cannot evangelise anyone without the word of God being at the centre of our evangelism. This is why we must take time to know God's word it will help us resist our
enemy and it will help us to proclaim it in order that God's kingdom may increase and his church advance.
2. THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE (vs. 18-20)
Now prayer is the Christian's secret weapon for it has no parallel with any earthly armour and for that
reason some people think that it is not really part of the armour that Paul is thinking about. That may well be the case but Paul includes it here because it is a great weapon against our enemy and it is a great
weapon to use for advancing God's kingdom. For prayer to be truly effective it must be in the Spirit that means it must be prompted and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is not a man made exercise it is a truly spiritual activity. One for which we need the Holy Spirit
and need to depend upon him and follow his leading in it. Now true prayer is very comprehensive this in indicated by the fourfold use of the word "all"
We are to pray on "all" occasions, which means in every situation. Of course we pray when we are in
difficulty but that must not be the only time when we pray. When we are enjoying a time of blessing I hope we turn that into prayer.
When we are about to engage in our social interests I hope we turn that into an appropriate prayer. When I
played football some of us use to meet to pray before the match. Why not it seemed the most natural thing to do? Every situation that we find ourselves in on a daily basis must be turned into prayer thanking God for
the opportunity and asking for his grace and help.
Prayer must be regular and constant; we must talk to God as frequently as we talk to each other. It should
be as normal for us as speaking to our own families. Paul is clearly emphasising the importance of prayer in the life of the believer. We should pray with "all" kinds of prayers and requests. There is much variety
in prayer and Paul is keen to highlight that the Christian must use them all.
For example there is adoration in prayer or praise prayer in which we seek to align our hearts with God's
through praising and adoring the character of God. There is the confession prayer when we confess our daily sins to God and seek his forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then there is thanksgiving prayer when
we specifically thank God for his answers and for his grace and of course for our salvation.
Then there is asking in prayer for specific people and things, seeking to submit ourselves to the will of
God. When we use the rich variety in prayer then prayer is never boring our problem is that prayer for us is about asking for things but we need to see prayer as a relationship and in every relationship the
conversation is full of variety.
Speak to God about everything I often talk to God as I walk down the street it can sometimes be embarrassing
but it is my way of seeking to make prayer a central part of my life.
The third "all" in this passage is translated as always in the NIV. We are to always pray. This is very
close to what Paul said about praying on all occasions except here the emphasis is on the activity and not the occasion. Prayer is always to be on our lips. When we rise in the morning do we thank God? Do we thank
him for our food our jobs and our cars?
Do we pray for safety in travelling and for protection throughout the day? Do we pray for people that we
meet throughout our day and thank God for every situation we find ourselves in. You see if we see prayer like this we soon discover that prayer becomes part of our everyday life. It is not always formal or has a set
time but as we encounter life every day if we have a prayerful attitude we will find lots of things to turn into pray to our God. When this happens then our relationship with God will very much be at the heart of
our everyday lives.
It will not be contained to a Sunday or some other formal activity of the church but it will be as natural
to talk to God as to anyone else. Finally Paul says concerning prayer that we are to pray for "all" the saints (Christians). Now if we take this seriously then we will never run out of things to pray for. How many
Christians are there in our world? I have no idea but Paul's point is that as we encounter God's people throughout life pray for them.
Even when we do not know Christians in other land we can still pray for them in a general way. Pray that God
will bless and help the Christians in the Sudan during this time of crisis for that country. Turn the evening news into praying for the saints in the countries and towns mentioned. Paul's point is very simply
whatever else we do make sure we pray often and consistently for all Christians.
Now of course our enemy will seek to do everything within his power to stop us praying or to limit our
praying to just formal times. But Christian we are in a relationship with God for every relationship to flourish there must be dialogue; God speaks to us through his word so we must make sure we spend time in the
word of God. But we speak to God through prayer so pray about everything and pray on all occasions and pray with all types of prayers and especially pray for all Christians throughout our world.
Paul ends this book by asking specifically for the church to pray for him (vs. 19-20). Paul was wise enough
to know that he needed prayer if he was going to stand against the devil. But he also needs prayer for an effective ministry.
Now we must remember that Paul is under house arrest when he writes these words and yet his main concern is
not for his release but that while in prison he might be given the right words to speak fearlessly the gospel message. He longs to be effective, he does not want to allow his imprisonment to make him fearful or
timid to declare the gospel and so he asks for pray that he might declare the gospel, as he should (v 20).
It is an amazing request really isn't it. How would we pray if we were in Paul's situation? For Paul the
gospel of the Lord Jesus was everything his own life was unimportant.
What mattered was that God's glorious gospel should be proclaimed and God through his gospel would do his
work and release many sinners from the bondage of Satan and bring them into the freedom that is found in Christ. For that to happen Paul understands the need for prayer.
Now is Paul's concern our concern? Is all that matters to us the gospel? But there is something else that
matters to Paul and that is the church (vs. 21-24). He is sending Tychicus to the church at Ephesus so that he can tell them how Paul is keeping and ease their worry but also so that he can encourage the church.
So as I finish what are we really passionate about? Are we like Paul passionate about the church and
passionate about the gospel? If we are; then we will ask the church to pray for us that our witness and ministry might be effective. We will seek at every opportunity to encourage the church so that each one will
experience God's peace love and grace that comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v 23).
Is there any better way to end this series than with Paul's closing words?
"Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love" (v 24).
AMEN
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