The Enemy and His Schemes.[i]
From
your experience, good or bad, what image most describes the church? A family with Jesus as the big brother, or a school
with Jesus as the great teacher? Perhaps
the image of a hospital with Jesus the healer?
Or a temple centred on Jesus the High Priest? For some it maybe the building metaphor that
springs to mind, built by Jesus the architect.
There is potentially farm imagery in some of our minds – arable (we are
a vineyard nurtured carefully by Jesus the gardener) or pastoral (we are sheep
with a shepherd). For some it will be
the body of individual essential members under Jesus the head.
At War
Ephesians
6:10-20 highlights an often neglected image – an army. Alongside the domestic, educational, medical,
religious, architectural, agricultural and biological is the military. Alongside the images of Jesus as brother,
teacher, healer, priest, builder, farmer, and head is the image of Jesus as the
warrior-general.
‘Put
on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes. For our battle is not against
flesh and blood, but…against the spiritual forces of evil…’ (Ephesians 6:11-12)
Rightly
we might feel uncomfortable with this image.
But note: It’s is not about
fighting against people but for people. It’s
not about taking people captive but taking captives free. It’s not about seeking war but protecting
peace. It’s not about taking life but
defeating death. It’s not about acts of
terror but about acts of love.
These
are things worth fighting for.
The Soldier and his Armour
Ephesians
6:10-20 is a graphic passage – loved by Sunday teachers and children
alike! Yet is really a brutal image of
blood and brutality. The church is
encouraged to dress for battle.
The Enemy and his Schemes
We are told that our struggle (a gory and ruthless wrestling
word) is ‘against the devil’s schemes’ and ‘not against flesh and blood’. Our struggle – as church, in marriages, as
parents, in workplace[ii] –
is ultimately against the devil. We are
at war.
But
talk of the devil stirs all sorts of emotions - feeling bemused or amused or
confused? Confident, concerned or never considered?
In culture and church
There
are often three reactions to talk of evil, wickedness and the devil.
Dismiss
– think we can ignore evil. To function as if any ‘devil’ talk is superstitions
of the past that we have outgrown. Yet
potentially that is simply a lack of experience on our part. Romeo Dalliare the
Canadian lieutenant general in charge of NATO troops post the Rwandan genocide,
in "Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
(1993)," wrote: "Death became a desired option. I hoped I would hit a
mine or run into an ambush and just end it all. I think some part of me wanted
to join the legions of the dead, whom I had failed…in Rwanda I shook hands with
the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have touched him. I know
the devil exists..."
Martin
Llyod-Jones was a medical doctor in central London who later became pastor of Westminster
Chapel, in his book ‘The Christian Warfare’ (published 17 years after his death
in 1998) he warns ‘I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of
the church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten. All is attributed to us…we are ignorant of
this great objective fact, that being, the existence of the devil, the
adversary, the accuser, and his fiery darts.’
Distort – think we can define evil. Secondly some of
us distort and redefine the devil, either as be excessively feared or else
foolishly mocked. CS Lewis in a series
of radio talks which later became his best-selling book ‘Mere Christianity’ (1952)
addresses this: ‘There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can
fall about devils. One is to disbelieve
in their existence. The other is to
believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They
themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a
magician with the same delight.’
Domesticate – think we can control evil. Maybe we domesticate
the devil like we do a farmyard animal – coerce and persuade him to serve us
with a mixture of threats and rewards, perhaps through incantations and
charms. More likely in UK culture though
we domesticate him like a household pet – welcome him into our homes as fun to entertain
us or something to distract our child.
A healthier response
The
Bible would suggest a healthier response than dismissing, distorting or domesticating.
In
the Old Testament it is called an accuser (e.g. Zechariah
3:1-2), a seducer (e.g. 1 Chronicles 21:1) or a persecutor (e.g. Job 2:1). In
the New Testament Devil (Greek diabolos = diabolical) &
Satan which mean liar, deceiver, slanderer,
mudslinger, accuser, corrupter.
Sometimes titles for him are the ‘prince of the air’, ‘god of this age’,
‘the accuser’, or ‘father of lies’. In Revelation the word is Apollyon, meaning the destroyer. Lucifer
is a Latin translation from 4th century, made popular by Catholic
use.
Four
things are crystal clear
Satan is controlled
by God and is not free to act outside God’s direct permission and
parameters. (Job 1:12, 2:6 & 41:5)
Satan is ultimately crushed by Jesus, standing no chance against Jesus’ power. (Revelation
12:9, 20:10)
But fourthly, now Satan is a genuine cause of evil in our world. He terrifies like a dragon (Rev
12:2-3); blinds people to Christ (2Cor 4:4); brings disobedience (Eph 2:2);
performs miracles to led astray (2Thes 2:9; Matt 24:24); captures people to its
evil will (2Tim 2:25; Lk 11:21ff); snatches away God’s word (Matt 13:4,19);
corrupts authority (Lk 4:6; Rev 13:2); encourages hostility (Acts 13:10);
thwarts mission (1Thes 2:18); throws pastors into prison (Rev 2:10); and prowls
on the attack like a hungry lion (1Peter 5:8).
[iv]
Why does God allow evil to remain?
Here’s
one hypothesis the Bible stirs us toward: God allows Satan to remain so that
Jesus might be shown more clearly as he truly is. Evil is permitted so we can see the full
extent of Jesus’ supremacy in contrast to satan’s feebleness. The influence of evil is a canvas upon which the splendour
of Jesus can be more vibrantly displayed.
The devil is like the jeweller’s black velvet which allows us to truly perceive
the diamond’s true beauty. So the power
and love of Jesus blazes most brilliantly against the darkness of the feebleness
and hatred of the devil. Jesus’ power is
so brought into focus in the gospels as he encounters evil.
The ‘devil’s schemes’ (Ephesians 6:11)
Schemes means cunning, sly, and clever. The devil is subtle. Peter calls him a ‘prowling lion’ who moves
so silently and secretively in the undergrowth we need to ‘be alert’ if we are
to spot and stop him (1Peter 5:8).
Our ‘struggle’ (Ephesians 6:12)
Ultimate ‘our struggle is not against flesh and blood’ – be
that in being a prevailing church, building a successful marriage, exhibiting purposeful
parenting or flourishing as one who exults God in the work place. It is against his ‘dark world and against
spiritual forces of evil’. Hence Paul urges
us twice to ‘put on the full armour of God’ so we might ‘stand’. (Ephesians 6:11,13) Next time we will see where the particular
focus of that battle lies.
Footnotes:
[i] This
is the first of three articles of what traditionally is called ‘spiritual
warfare’ but is better understand as the normal Christian life (to coin
Watchman Nee’s title!). The second
considers the Battle and its Focus. The
third Christ and his Victory.
[ii] I
have chosen these examples because they are Paul’s examples of the theatre of
war in the immediately preceding passages (Ephesians 4:1-6:9)
[iii] The
Bible is silent on the precise details of who the devil is or how God created
him. The ‘fallen angel’ concept is very
loosely rooted in a likely misunderstanding of Isaiah 14:12-15 and some
passages in Daniel, both about the king of Babylon - a human leader God
appointed for good but whose sin corrupted their rule. He was a ‘fallen angel’. Medieval Catholic doctrine made much of this
(circa 5-15th centuries). Satan as a
fallen angel is also clearly taught in the Quran/Islam and during the Crusades
this Islamic teaching strengthened Christian Europe’s belief in this (circa
1095ff). John Milton’s best seller
Paradise Lost cemented this popular view (1667). Confusing matters is the English word ‘angel’
means a heavenly being. But the Hebrew
(malach) and Greek (aggelos) word it translates simple mean messenger or envoy
delegated a responsibility in a broad sense and is unrelated to whether they
are ‘heavenly’ or ‘earthly’ beings, which is determined by context. For example Malachi the Old Testament prophet
means ‘Lord’s angel or messenger. In the New Testament aggelos is use in Mt 11:10 of John the Baptist; or in Lk 7:24,
9:52; Gal 4:14; Js 2:25 to mean human messengers; or the ‘angels’ in Rev 2-3
meaning ‘messengers’ (potentially they are letters addressed to the ‘pastors’
of the church, which in many context even today are called ‘messengers of or to
the church). It is a common word in OT
and NT and appears 127 times in the
Bible. It is most likely the ‘fallen
angel’ passages of the Bible refer to a human messenger or leader who has
fallen from their office or from the blessing of God because of sin or
disobedience.
[iv] Demons
are lesser versions of the same.
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