New Morning Mercies #283

Today you are called to abandon the purposes of your kingdom and give yourself to the will of a greater King. Grace makes it possible.

It is the view of life between the “already” and the “not yet” that every Christian needs to have. It’s captured powerfully by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10–18:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying 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.

Why does Paul end his letter to the Ephesians this way? He does so because he understands that on this side of forever, life is war. When he tells his readers to put on gospel armor and get ready for war, Paul is not introducing a new topic; no, he’s summarizing everything he’s said so far. Every directive he has given—that is, every application of what it means to live in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ—must be lived out in the context of a great spiritual battle. What is this war about? It is the great war for the rulership of our hearts. With sin still living inside of us, we are still torn between our love for the claustrophobic little kingdom of self and the grand and glorious purposes of the kingdom of God. We still are tempted to want our own way and to write our own rules. We still tend to value comfort and pleasure more than we love redemption. We are tempted to have more excitement in the things of this world than we do with the reality that we have become the children of God. We still complain when sanctifying trials come our way and we still tend to credit God with faithfulness only when things in our lives seem to be working.

This great spiritual war is not the rare, exotic experience of demons dancing on the table that we often think it is. No, it is the constant battle for our hearts that will rage between God and a seductive and deceptive enemy until that enemy is under the foot of Jesus. Ephesians 6:10–18 reminds you that you have been given ample grace for this battle.

For further study and encouragement: 1 John 2:15–17