I remember as a high school student going to a youth retreat where the topic of teaching was the armor of God. We took multiple sessions of study to examine each piece of the Roman soldier’s armor and see how each of those pieces symbolically applies to our Christian lives. I remember other settings where I heard of Christians who declared to me that they pray each morning to don each piece of the armor of God. And while I am grateful to God for the spiritual encouragement I gained from that retreat and for the sincerity of the believer “praying on their helmet,” I think there is a better way for us to think about this issue.
Ephesians 6:14–18a
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
As Paul draws his letter to the Ephesians to a close, the imprisoned disciple seems to draw a metaphor from the battle uniform of a Roman soldier. Perhaps Paul is even looking across the room at one. All of these elements are metaphorical ways to look at doing spiritual rather than physical battle. After all, Paul tells us that our struggle is not one against flesh and blood.
What some may fine disappointing—what I as a teenager would have found dull—is the fact that this metaphor from Paul is a dramatic picture focusing believers on ordinary means of living for Jesus. Yes, the uniform is dramatic. But, no, the things it represents are not.
If you were to ask somebody, “How do I battle for my soul against the devil,” what would they tell you? First and foremost, let’s remember that our souls are secure in Christ because of his work and not based on our goodness. But with that said, how do we participate in spiritual warfare? Do we have to learn strategies against the devil? Do we have to learn MMA submission holds to make the demons tap out?
I’ll tell you what we have to do. But, before I do, let me warn you against a soft Gnosticism. Remember, in the late first and second centuries, Gnostics were folks that claimed to have found secret spiritual knowledge that would elevate them to the locked places of heavenly existence. And the Scripture, though written before Gnosticism flourished, warned sharply against such thinking. So, do not think that there is any value in you learning a spiritual secret. There are no good spiritual secrets for you to learn. What you should learn is Scripture. Learn to do the will of God by obeying and conforming to his holy word.
Now, let’s talk spiritual warfare. Particularly, let’s talk about the tools apart from the imagery. What do you use to defeat the devil and win the battle? God says to fight with these weapons and defenses: truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, Scripture, and prayer. I’m not even going to break those down. Just think about them. Do they sound like a secret? Are they extra dramatic? How would you classify living by truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, Scripture, and prayer?
The point that God is making for us in Ephesians 6 is not that there is a secret way to beat up the devil. Instead, the point is that you, believer, fight the spiritual battle by participating in ordinary means of grace, ordinary spiritual disciplines, ordinary methods of following Jesus. You trust Jesus. You love the word. You rely on the finished work of the Savior. You seek to grow based on Scripture. You seek to repent of sin. You pray. You share the gospel. You live an ordinary, faithful, Jesus-loving, Bible-saturated Christian life, and this is how you fight the spiritual war that rages.
You will never faithfully fight the spiritual war while embracing sin. You will never win the battle apart from the local church. You will never find victory seeking something outside of the Scripture. You will never find a secret code word to make the devil turn tail and run. You will never find a way to please God beyond trusting Jesus, repenting of Sin, and loving the Lord and your neighbor.
I know, ordinary sounds so, well, ordinary. But the ordinary way of living the true Christian life is a great joy. And the ordinary way of following Jesus is exactly how we play our role in the spiritual battle. Sure, there are things going on in the heavenly places we do not see. Sure, there are angels and demons doing battle. But the truth is, this is none of our business. God never called us to look for devils. God called us to love Jesus, love one another, love his word, and be faithful. Our God who is the Almighty, he will handle the invisible battlefield, and this should give us hope.
Pastor Travis Peterson 