The War is Real and the War is Now

Ephesians 6:10-13
January 12, 2020
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

Dear church, as we wait for the return of Christ our King, let us remember that we are in a war. We are right in the middle of the greatest and most important war of all: the war between our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the chief evil spirit that is known as Satan or the devil.

This war began after the covenant of works was not fulfilled by Adam. Adam sinned against God. He failed to bring himself and bring everyone else into a perfect relationship with God. Instead, Adam earned for himself and for everyone else guilt and suffering and death and hell.

But God did not put enmity between himself and Adam. Instead, he declared a covenant of grace, which put enmity between the seed or offspring of the woman and the seed or offspring of the serpent. In other words, God declared war against the enemy. The enemy that is known as Satan or the devil. Thus, God said these words to the serpent in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

These words are a promise. A promise that a special someone, a divine champion, a prophet/priest/king like no other, would one day come to do what Adam did not do, and destroy the person and the work of the devil. This promise, this offspring of the woman, is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This promise was a promise of war. This promise was a promise of judgment for the kingdom of the serpent and victory for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is the war.

And the war has been won.

Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness in Matthew 4 as our human representative. But Jesus did not sin. He perfectly fulfilled the law on our behalf. This is his war. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrificial atonement for our sins. He gave up his body and his blood as a substitute for us. This is his war. Jesus rose again. Death is swallowed up in victory. This is his war. Jesus ascended. The Son is exalted at the right hand of the Father. This is his war. Jesus will return in power and in glory and usher in his kingdom of the new heavens and new earth. This is his war.

And he wins. He wins for you. He went to war. He went to war for you. He did all of this because he loves you. Jesus loves you.

And the chief evil spirit that is known as Satan or the devil - he hates all of this. He hates the fact that Jesus wins. He hates the fact that he is the loser of the war. He hates the fact that Jesus loves you. And on top of all of this, he hates you.

You are his enemy. And he is your enemy. It is in this sense that you are right in the middle of this war. The devil is fully aware of who you are and where you stand in this war. And he attacks you. He attacks you with his rulers, his authorities, his cosmic powers over this present darkness, his spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

Your enemy’s schemes of war are many. Satan tempts you, deceives you, and accuses you. He tempts you to sin against God. He deceives you with lies about God. He accuses you to make you withdraw from God. The devil works to inflict hurt and damage in your life and in your relationships with others. He loves to undermine your assurance of salvation and oppose your sanctification. He loves to downplay doctrine. He loves to frustrate fellowship. He loves to make marriage miserable. This is what your enemy tries to do against you. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to think more about the war that is being waged against you, you might want to consider a book titled The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, a not-so-fictional fictional account of written letters from a senior demon named Screwtape to a junior demon named Wormwood about how to bring down a believer in Christ. Or you might want to consider the September 2019 online issue of Tabletalk Magazine, which contains a not-so-fictional fictional training manual for demons.

Dear Highland, God tells us that we are in a war and that we are under attack. This morning’s scripture text is therefore a serious and sobering wake up call. The devil and his creatures and his schemes are real. This is not myth or metaphor. Satan hates you. Therefore, your time on this old and fading earth is not the time to eat and drink and be merry. Yes, Christ has won the war. But now is not the time to celebrate. Now is the time to wrestle and withstand attack. Now is the time to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Now is the time to put on the whole armor of God. Now is the time to stand firm. The war is already won. But the war is not yet finished. We follow in the footsteps of our firstfruits and our forerunner that is Christ. But we are not allowed to skip the step of sharing in his sufferings and just be clothed with glory now. Soon and very soon, you will put on glory. But right now, you must put on armor. And you must stand. This is the correct Christian life.

In the next few weeks, Lord willing, we will consider what this armor of God is all about.

But I close by simply saying this. You need this armor. You need to take it up and put it on. Without the armor of God, you cannot stand against schemes of the devil. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Let us believe in the serious words of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The war is real and the war is now. And let us put on his armor and stand.

Soli Deo Gloria