Spiritual Warfare: The Furnishing for Spiritual Warfare - 5
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Introduction: Having concluded verses 11-17, Paul now summaries the final instructions concerning the spiritual warfare of the believer.
In this summary we deal with the application of all that has been discussed.
We see in this passage the three thoughts that we began with in the first lesson on the Furnishings for Spiritual Warfare.
In taking to ourselves the whole armor of God we have His Word, His Presence, and His Power.
Each piece of the armor that God prescribes is tied into these three things.
As we continue in this passage we come to the actions of the Soldier for Jesus Christ.
Read along with me beginning in v18.
The Bible says,
Ephesians 6:18-20 “18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
The first action of the Christian Soldier in lieu of the spiritual warfare that He is engaged in is prayer.
This is of such great importance.
Prayer is converse with God. Often we are petitioning God on behalf of ourselves or others. At the heart of this is the understanding that we are in need of God’s help for the warfare that we face.
Prayer is a declaration of our dependence upon God. It is the action of the child of God that understands He is our Rock, our Shield and our Fortress.
The command is simple.... we are told to pray always.
When we are trying to understand the Bible we must follow proper hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics is a transliterated Greek word which simply means interpretation.
The Bible says, “Praying always...”
The question comes up sometimes, how do I arrive at a proper interpretation?
And so, there are rules set forth that we generally follow:
We interpret literally. (This does not discount the use of metaphors or symbolism or any other form of literary device. When we say we interpret literally, we are saying we take the text at face value. If I am for instance in a poetical book of the Bible, I must understand that there will be poetical devices used. If I am in an apocalyptic book of the Bible, I am to understand that there may be some apocalyptic symbolism used.)
We interpret grammatically. (We look at the Grammar that is used. I.e. this is a noun, this is a verb, this is a conjunction etc.)
We interpret historically. (We understand the historical context of this passage. What time period are we in? What historically has taken place? What can we know about the people, place or things discussed in the passage. When I see the usage of the word ‘lamp’ in Scripture I cannot in all aspects compare this to a ‘lamp’ in the 21st Century etc…)
We interpret culturally. (As best as we can, we try to determine the culture of the people involved in the text. Hebraisms, Greek Culture, Roman Society…etc..)
We interpret contextually. (What is the theme of the chapter?, What is the them of the passage?, What is the theme of the verse?, How does this fit in with the rest of the Bible?)
I bring this up because of this first injunction given to us in this passage.
The Bible says, “Praying always...”
What does this mean?
Does this mean we are to pray every minute of every day?
No.
So what does this mean?
Let’s look at little closer at the text.
The text says, “Praying always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,…”
The underlying text says it this way,
διά - through, πᾶς - all, every, καιρός - occasion, time
‘through all occasions [time]’
Prayer is to be consistent.
Meaning for the Christian Soldier prayer is a common thing that takes place. It should be nothing unusual.
This falls in line with the metaphor used here. Consistency of a Soldier is paramount.
In our text, it would be foolish to engage in spiritual warfare without seeking after our Lord and Saviors enablement through prayer.
So therefore prayer ought to be consistent, but then secondly it ought to be:
Prayer is to be instant.
In Romans chapter 12, Paul is dealing with the practical living out of the Christian life. He give a long list of practical items for everyday living.
In verse 9 after speaking about spiritual gifts notice what the Bible says,
Romans 12:9-13 “9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.”
This simply means that you and I ought to be ready always to go to the Lord in prayer.
We have a great privilege to speak to the King of kings.
As a child of God, I am part of the family of God. I can approach the throne of God because the curtain has been rent.
The Lord Jesus Christ, in His blood atoning death, opened the way for you and I to enter into the throne room of grace.
We can pray instantly.
The enemy of our Souls can attack at any time. You and I must be prepared to pray instantly.
The Bible tells us that we have a privilege to pray because of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16 “14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
In John chapter 16 the Lord told the disciples that the day was coming when they could go to the Father.
John 16:25-27 “25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”
Prayer is to be persistent.
When we look in the Gospel records we find on a number of occasions that the Lord Jesus Christ dealt with this matter of prayer.
In Luke chapter 18, for instance the Lord gave the parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge.
The sum of what the Lord was teaching is given in the verse 1 before the parable.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
We see in that parable not only consistency, but persistence.
The persistence of the Christian is not because God is unwilling to hear and answer prayer, but because of the magnitude and span of the difficulties, trials and afflictions of this life.
The Bible says in verse 7 and 8 of that chapter “7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
Albert Barnes commented this concerning our persistence in prayer in relation to our wonderful God, “whose prayers he always hears; whose tears he puts up in his bottle; and whose importunity must surely be thought to have more regard with him, than that of the poor widow with the unjust judge:”
In Luke chapter 11 verses 1-13, the Lord commends to us that we should be persistent in our prays and also how good God is to us.
The text in Ephesians 6 goes on and states that we are to “Pray always with all supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
Prayer consists of more that just asking for things.
In I Timothy 2:1 the Bible says, “1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”
Philippians 4:6 “6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
This injunction to prayer consistently, persistently and instantly then is to cover all aspects of praying.
We are making request or supplications. (Petition or earnest request.)
We are interceding on behalf of others. (Praying on their behalf.)
We are praying to be enabled for the work God has called us to do.
We are praying for wisdom to be led by His Spirit.
The Bible states here that we are doing this watching or we could say praying with knowledge.
How are we to know how to specifically pray concerning the trials and difficulties of this life?
Oh, how vital this is to be connected in with the local church to have knowledge of what to pray for.
How vital it is for us to hear these reports of our fellow brethren in foreign fields.
How vital it is for us to have an understanding of the times and know what is taking place so we can pray in the Spirit.
Lastly, I do not want to skip over this, for every word that we find in our Bible is important.
We see that we are to pray for all saints. That is for all those that are part of the family of God.
You may be in a place, where you might say, “I can’t pray for that brother or that sister.”
This is a problem, for the Bible declares in the midst of spiritual warfare we are to pray, “with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”
Not only are we to pray.
But notice secondly, we are to pray specifically for utterance to boldly speak the mysteries of the Gospel.
In this passage Paul is asking specifically for the church family at Ephesus to pray toward this end.
And how true, you and I need to pray for God to help our speech and when we speak concerning the mysteries of the Gospel.
It is evident to me, that I need God’s help to speak properly and boldly the mysteries of the Gospel.
This is the main reason you and I are left upon this earth, to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
What good would it do us to have all these other items in place, yet we are not advancing with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Here we find we are to make known the mysteries of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have found that I myself am incapable of being a proper witness for the Lord without His enablement.
I dare say if we are unwilling to admit this, then look at the counsel of Scripture. Here, Paul is a learned man. He is powerful in his understanding of the Scriptures.He penned much of the New Testament.
Peter even wrote of His spiritual understanding stating “15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” II Peter 3:15-16
And yet, even though this was the case, Paul was asking that they would pray for Him to be able to speak boldly, and have utterance to make known mysteries of the Gospel.
“19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
We think about the situation that Paul was in… An ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ in bonds.
“There is something especially touching in this. He was “an ambassador” - sent to proclaim peace to a lost world. But he was now in chains. An ambassador is a sacred character. No greater affront can be given to a nation than to put its ambassadors to death, or even to throw them into prison.”- Albert Barnes
And yet for all of this His desire to be equipped for the warfare was to be enabled by the Lord to speak boldly and rightly the mysteries of the Gospel.
As we close out this section on the Furnishing for Spiritual Warfare, we have discovered that
1. Our victory is in secure in the power and might of the Lord. The Bible says, “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
2. We are to put on the whole armor of God. Everything in this passage is important. God has provided all that we have need of.
3. We are to withstand and also stand in this fight.
4.