Fight Defensively

Ephesians 6:10 - 20 (RSV) ¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  ¹²For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  ¹³Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  ¹⁴Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  ¹⁵and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace;  ¹⁶besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.  ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  ¹⁸Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,  ¹⁹and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,  ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

The oldest known work on military strategy is Sun Tzu's “The Art of War.” It was written in China in the 6^th century B.C. Sun Tzu’s treatise sounds very modern – except for his reference to dull swords. His advice is practical and reasonable. One rule is to avoid a siege situation. If you let your enemy retreat behind fortified walls you create a protracted standoff. Your supplies will become short if you are far away from your home base. Your men will grow weary of waiting to finish off your enemy. Even a weaker enemy with a strong defense can torment and superior foe by simply holding fast.

If you will read carefully the passage above you will note that our enemy is spiritual and not personal – that is not human. You are not my enemy and I am not yours. If we fight each other we are fighting within the camp while our real enemy, the Evil One, delights in our confusion.

First Paul affirms where our strength resides. It is in God alone. It is not in us and I think I can show it is not in our armament. Even the armor we wear is God’s armor. The armor God provides us is telling. All of it is defensive and none of it is offensive. It is the truth, righteousness (personal piety), faith, the reconciling power of the Gospel, the salvation God provides, and, finally, it is God Himself, the Spirit. There is one armament that might be considered offensive. It is the Bible, here called a sword. A dear friend pointed out to me that the kind of “sword” mentioned here is more a dagger than a board bladed sabre or cutlass. It is certainly not the Samurai Tanto sword we see in martial arts movies. It was a dagger used only in close up fight and mostly to defend ourselves.

I think we are besieged by the Evil One. That puts the Devil at a grave disadvantage. Ours is to trust that help is always available and He who is with us in greater than He who is in the world.

Cheer up! You are surrounded but always victorious.

God does not desert those who serve him, even if they are called upon to give up all material wealth and a regular income.

Paul Tournier (1898–1986)

God’s decree is the very pillar and basis on which the saints’ perseverance depends. That decree ties the knot of adoption so fast, that neither sin, death, nor hell, can break it asunder.

Thomas Watson (c. 1557–1592)

 I looked up to the heavens once more, and the quietness of the stars seemed to reproach me. “We are safe up here,” they seemed to say, “we shine, fearless and confident, for the God who gave the primrose its rough leaves to hide it from the blast of uneven spring, hangs us in the awful hollows of space. We cannot fall out of his safety. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold!”

George Macdonald (1824–1905)

We plough the fields and scatter

The good seed on the land,

But it is fed and watered

By God’s Almighty hand.

Jane Montgomery Campbell (1817–1879)

Let a man go away or come back: God never leaves. He is always at hand and if he cannot get into your life, still he is never farther away than the door.

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1327)