The Weapons of our Warfare – Tactics 7 – Our Armour part 2

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We discussed the following questions relative to Eph. 6:10-11

  1. What does it mean in practice to ‘be strong in the Lord’? v.10
    It’s not our strength, but ‘in the Lord and in the power of His might’. ‘power’ is the root of the word ‘rulers’ in v12). ‘might’ used in Eph. 1:19 re the Resurrection and Exaltation of Christ
  2. What is the power of His might and how does it differ from the above (if it does differ)? v.10
  3. Stand for, stand with, stand in, stand alongside, stand up for, stand against – how are we to stand? v.11 Standing our ground – To be able to ‘stand’ – be steadfast, established, not blown about (Eph. 4:14) against the ‘wiles’ – schemes of the enemy (Eph. 4:14), described as devices or purposes in 2 Cor. 2:11 seen in the schemes of men Eph. 4:14 against which we don’t argue, but simply stand firm and live the life 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; James 3:17.

Highlights of the discussion (the full discussion can be viewed on YouTube here):

Being strong in the Lord

  • knowing who you are, speaking it out, remembering it, remind yourself it’s not me, it’s Christ in me
  • the truth and the righteousness and the peace – those are fundamentals
  • being aligned with God’s will
  • knowing how to use scripture as well being thoroughly versed in scripture
  • we are to be strong in the Lord, so that emphasizes more of what we need to do but yet the power of His might is not about us doing anything; it’s about his grace, it’s about his keeping power
  • laying down our own strength, recognizing our weakness
  • humility is the secret to strength
  • regard yourself as a tool in the hands of the master
  • I want to be useful usable and used
  • learning to act on our faith in believing that God is the one with the power

Being strong in the Lord is listening to the Lord and knowing who we are. remembering it when it when it counts, and probably speaking it out.

The power of His might

Our part is to trust in His might. We humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God – that is the secret of strength

  • It’s like plugging an appliance into the mains, because we need we need that power to be able to stand against our enemy.

Standing against the enemy’s schemes is nearly all about the mind

  • the enemy can only get in when you let him by getting into fear or bitterness or unforgiveness – all in the mind
  • one of the schemes of the enemy is to place thoughts in our minds
  • also if we’ve had erroneous teaching and we’re applying that to our lives then we can be in serious trouble
  • self-control is very important
  • renovating your mind – better rendered ‘renovating your imaginations’
  • this comes through the daily discipline of putting off the old man, putting on the new man, recognizing who we are and that only in the new man can we stand

Relationships are essential to renewal, and to standing together!

  • relationships are difficult but they can also be a wonderful blessing
  • they rub off the rough edges and one of the keys to that is identifying in yourself the ‘button’ which has been pushed, repenting of it, and forgiving if necessary

We ended with a quote from the Our Daily Bread booklet on the Armour of God

The devil is the ultimate enemy of God. Whatever God builds, the devil wants to tear down. God gives us the united safe family of the church; so the devil looks to split it up with disagreements and pride. God gives us his peace and forgiveness in Jesus; so the devil fills our minds with all the shameful things we’ve done to make us feel guilty and hopeless.

These tactics are called “schemes” . He is a trickster who deals in lies and deception. He makes us forget about his existence so that we’re unprepared for his attacks and unable to recognize them for what they are. He works away at us bit by bit, drip feeding us guilty, fearful memories that soon become a landslide burying us deep in misery.

It’s the same with the way he tempts us. He’ll show us things that look like a bit of fun with little consequence. But as he invites us back to them again and again, too late we realize we’re enslaved to them, without the choice or power to free ourselves.

In verse 16 his attacks are called “flaming arrows” . In ancient warfare, arrows with a flaming point were fired at enemy soldiers to cause maximum damage and injury. As Christian author John Stott explains, the devil fires us at us flaming arrows like “guilt. Other darts are … doubt and disobedience, rebellion, lust, malice or fear,” and anything else that can inflame our minds and hearts. When these things hit us, they engulf us, taking our attention away from Jesus and His love

Download the whole booklet here: https://www.odb.org/resources/what-is-the-armour-of-god
Spiritual Warfare, Tactics, The Weapons of our Warfare