Paul's Prison Epistles: Paul and the Ephesians预览

Conquering the Cosmos: Ephesians 6:13-16

As we have seen, God’s kingdom currently co-exists or overlaps with the present age of sin and death. During this time, God’s forces — including his church — battle against the kingdom of the demons and fallen humanity. But eventually Jesus will return. And when he does, he will deliver final judgment against his enemies, forever crushing their ability to resist him. Eventual victory over the powers of darkness is certain. But until that day, we are obligated to stand and fight against them.

But even in the present age of sin and death, we have the upper hand in the battle against the demonic forces. As we have seen, our king is already seated in power and authority above them, and we are seated with him. God has already rescued us from their evil dominion and restored us to a state of blessing within his kingdom. And he has empowered us with his Holy Spirit to withstand the worst attacks our enemies can muster. Consider Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:13, 16:

Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand… Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:13, 16).

Through his grace and Spirit, God provides us with power to stand against the demonic hordes.

And not only this, but the many blessings that the church receives are proof to the demons that their defeat is certain. In fact, Paul went so far as to say that the very existence of the church testifies to the doom of all of God’s enemies. Consider Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:8-11:

This grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:8-11).

Even before the creation of mankind, God planned to use his church to reveal his glory to his demonic enemies. But he kept this fact a secret until the time of Christ. But now that Christ has come, God is using the church to demonstrate his wisdom and power to all his enemies. He is holding up the church as an example of his ability to defeat even the greatest schemes of the Devil, as proof of his power to reconcile all things to himself. After all, if he can redeem the human race from the corruption of sin, if he can reconcile even us to one another and to himself, there is nothing he can’t do. 

But we are not just on display. The church is God’s prize. We are the treasure he has fought for and won from the kingdom of his enemies. We are the people God controls history to save, the beloved bride Christ gave his life to protect and to marry. Consider Paul’s description of Christ and the church in Ephesians 5:23-27: 

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church … Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her … to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:23-27).