The Secret of His Purpose

Chapter 15: Spiritual Defence

In the last chapter of the epistle Paul leaves the immediate sphere of the church to draw our attention particularly to two aspects of our life in the world which can make or mar our testimony, and can make or mar the testimony of the whole assembly: our homes and our work. Then he sums up with a statement of our spiritual warfare, showing the forces against which we are in constant combat, and the resources at our disposal to meet every possible need.

The subject of ch. 6 vs. 1-4 is the Christian home. A home in which the standard of God's Word is upheld can be one of the most effective witnesses for Christ. On the other hand, a home in which the standard of the Lord is not honoured can be one of the most damaging of all things to a clear testimony. Paul exhorts both children to obedience and parents to a recognition of their responsibility. While the laxity of parents is not an excuse for the disobedience of their children, yet parents are under obligation, as in a position of authority, to see that their children perform their duty towards them and the household. "Nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord" (v. 4). The Lord, once more, is our example in the exquisite balance of love and discipline with which He deals with each one of us, loving as no one else can love, yet never digressing from the absolute standard of His own holiness, never failing to administer the necessary rebuke and correction.

How often God's people fail in this most acid of all tests, their relationship in their homes with those to whom they are most close, their own families. Scripture places great importance on the right ordering of the household. In the life of Abraham it is stated as one of the reasons why he was brought into the intimate counsels of God. "And the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement'" (Genesis 18:17,19). In the life of the church too, it is of paramount importance, and laid down decisively as a condition of eldership, or of holding a deacon's position, in the assembly. Writes Paul to Timothy, "An overseer then must be....one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (but if a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)....Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well." These may well be the most neglected of all conditions laid down for elders and deacons, yet the logic of Scripture is unassailable, and the standard is unmistakable. When it is ignored, the confusion of a disordered household is not long in entering the church.

While we are not of the world, we are in the world, and God's people, as everyone else, have to earn their livelihood, usually in business or trade which is very much bound to the things of earth. Inevitably, a large proportion of their day is occupied with concerns which may seem to be very far removed from the things of God. Yet this also can and must be a means of testimony. The indwelling of the Spirit who sets us apart as a people holy and separate unto the Lord likewise sanctifies the commonest things of everyday life and the most earthbound of tasks as a means of revealing His life. When the priests of the Old Testament were set apart for the service of the tabernacle by the touch of the anointing oil, the vessels of the tabernacle and the articles even of most common use by the priests in their daily duties were set apart also (Exodus 30:25-30). God had to use all in order to give full expression to His purpose.

In vs. 5-9 Paul lays down the very important principle that all service is 'unto the Lord' (v. 7). In each of these five verses he actually repeats the same thing in a slightly different way. The life of Christ must permeate our work for earthly masters and give evidence of a standard far above what the world would accept. The Christian should in all respects be more faithful and more efficient, since he works not for earthly gain but for God's glory (v. 6).

Our relationship to Christ redirects the whole motive of our lives, and changes, therefore, the motive of our service in the world. Paul further states this in writing to the Colossians. "Whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men," he says (Colossians 3:23). It follows, of course, that what cannot be done 'heartily, as unto the Lord' must be rejected. In the modern world there are many spheres of employment which are little more than organised godlessness--the entertainment world, the liquor trade and a host of others. In such things the Christian has no place. While from an earthly point of view they are often the most remunerative occupations, the person whose heart is set upon the things that are eternal will have no difficulty in passing them by.

It is a great privilege to be called to preach the Word of God, but it is no less a privilege and responsibility to be called, as we all are, to practice the Word of God. Whether master or servant, life consists of one great opportunity for showing forth whose we are and to whom, above all others, our allegiance is due. The greatest impact upon the godless world around is made when the standard of the life of Christ is revealed in alien circumstances through the faithfulness to the Lord of His people. The extent to which we take Christ into our daily work or leave Him out can make or mar the witness of the assembly.

In connection with each of the two foregoing subjects, there is one other factor which deserves our attention. Paul exhorts children to obey their parents 'in the Lord,' and servants to obey their masters 'according to the flesh' (vs. 1, 5). Absolute authority belongs to one only, God, and in no sphere of living, be it in the home, in business, or anywhere else, should our duty to man bring us into conflict with our duty to God who is above man. Where there is this conflict, man is overstepping his authority and ascribing to himself a position which is not his by right. The head of a department in a firm has complete authority within his own sphere, but he has no authority to instruct those under him to do what is inconsistent with the policy framed by the directors of the firm or with the laws of the land, for he himself is in a position of subjection to them both. Theirs is an authority higher than his own.

The principle of human government is recognised in Scripture, and of the powers that be Paul goes so far as to say that they are 'ordained of God.' Subjection to them is straitly enjoined as the duty of God's people (Romans 13:1-5). It is also well to remember that Paul wrote at a time when most of the known world was under the despotic power of Rome. Palestine was but a vassal state in the heathen, Roman empire, and followers of Christ, who were considered a new and heretical sect, had little sympathy from any section of the community. But the unmistakable duty of the early Christians was to recognise the legitimate authority of the power under which they lived. When that power, however, sought to dictate their relationship to God, their duty was again unequivocal. Their duty was to God first. "We must obey God rather than man," said the apostles (Acts 5:29). Our Lord Himself, in example and precept, left us an unerring guide. When asked whether He, as a Jew, should pay tax to the Roman power, He took a penny. "Whose is this image and superscription?" He enquired. "Caesar's," His tempters replied. Then said Jesus, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:16-17).

In this epistle we have been concerned not with things earthly but with things heavenly. The church, as we have seen, belongs not simply to time, but to eternity. The blessings of God's kingdom into which we enter during our lifetime upon earth are but a foretaste of the much greater that is to come. The fellowship of the Lord and His people in the assembly is but the beginning of a communion whose measure is the measure of God Himself. It is to be expected that the purpose of God through His church will be contested by the powers of earth and hell which have always stood in implacable opposition to Him. This is precisely what Paul states as he draws our attention to the great spiritual warfare in which we are engaged. "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (v. 12). Here is our foe, a spiritual foe, and our defence must be a spiritual defence.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might," says Paul (v. 10). He ends his letter where he began it, with our complete and utter dependence upon Christ. From this we must never get away. One of the most insidious temptations which assails the people of God comes at a stage of spiritual maturity where they feel that they can win through in the spiritual struggle by virtue of what strength they themselves have already gained in Christ. One of the dangers of spiritual experiences is that it will lead to a self-assurance which presages a fall. This was the subject of one of Paul's strongest words to the Galatians. "Are ye so foolish?" he asks, "Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?" Here is a very salutary warning for all who would serve the Lord. When we have known the grace of God's blessing upon our ministry, let us beware lest, at that very moment, we take our eyes of dependence off the Lord, we ourselves become a hindrance to His ways, and what was once the work of God ends up as a work of the flesh.

God has provided, in His spiritual armour, a full resource with which to 'stand against the wiles of the devil' (v. 11), a supply to meet the need of 'the evil day' (v. 13), and the strength, having overcome all, 'to stand' (v. 13). We should remember that the defence which the Lord affords is an assurance against spiritual defeat, but not necessarily a protection against the loss of material and earthly things. The 'evil day' of which Paul speaks in verse thirteen no doubt indicated the storm of intense persecution which was so soon to descend upon the churches. The Lord had already promised such to His disciples, but Paul's assurance was that, should everything of temporal value be removed from them, those things which were of eternal value could never be taken away. We often take for granted that the Lord's protecting care means that we should forever be shielded from material hardship; in fact we sometimes seem to lay greater store on the things of earth than on the safekeeping of our faith, yet Scripture leaves little warrant for such an outlook. Our Lord, in the supreme victory which won our salvation, died bereft of everything that this world considers of value. This is the victory promised to us, His followers. Whether God wills to bless us materially or not, in Christ and the armour of God we have a defence against the temptations of riches or poverty, health or sickness, joy or sorrow--a defence which can bring us through with a faith and a witness unimpaired.

"The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds" (II Corinthians 10:4). Here they are: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. Truth is indicative of what we are. "Thou desirest truth in the inward parts," said the psalmist (Psalm 51:6). Truth is the unalterable characteristic of a life of which Christ is the centre. Righteousness, our breastplate (v. 14), is the practice of truth, the works that must follow faith. If our profession of faith is bereft of anything of the righteous character of Christ revealed in our daily walk, then we are defenceless indeed. To publish the gospel of peace is the commission the Lord Himself has given us. It should be one of the greatest incentives of our Christian walk in the world. Let us be ever pressing forward to make Christ known. This, our work, is also our defence. Inactivity always leaves a way open for Satan to attack. The beginning of David's decline was when, 'at the time when kings go out to battle,' he was idly whiling away the evening walking on the roof of his house (II Samuel 11:2).

To these three aspects of Christian testimony Paul adds another three, all of which increase in effectiveness in proportion to our faithfulness in walk and witness: faith, that confidence in the Lord which experience of His grace can increase, but never diminish; salvation, that demonstration of victory and power over sin which is an inalienable part of a life lived under His control; the Word of God, which the experience of ages has demonstrated as the sure and only weapon to combat sin and the forces of evil. If we but learn to use these weapons of our spiritual warfare, every power that would exalt itself in opposition to the purposes of God must bow in defeat.

But the armour of God relates pre-eminently to the church. If we are to understand the message of this epistle aright, we must view everything in its relationship to the body, for the church, the body of Christ, is the burden of the letter. As we have seen, salvation takes us out of the realm of self, and into the realm of fellowship, of body consciousness, and it is the church which is the dwelling place of God and the seat of His power. It is against the body, therefore, that all the attacks of the enemy are directed, and it is for the body, the new man, that God has provided an armour. Satan has little fear of the individual. If he can isolate one of God's children, he will quickly do his worst. But he dreads the body, for against it he is powerless, and in opposing it he suffers inevitable defeat. All of us have experienced the strength of fellowship in times of trial, and have, in some measure at least, therefore known the protection of the body in the enemy's attack, but do we simply seek the shade of the assembly in a time of storm, and then desert it when we feel the storm is past? Do we know what it is to stand constantly in the strength of the body, to know the strength of God's overcoming power in the active witness of the assembly? This is what God desires. He desires that always we should be found as part of the new man, protected by the divine armour, and armed to fight the battles of the Lord.

Just as no individual can contain all the fullness of God, so in no one individual can be seen the full strength of 'the whole armour of God.' The armour is the armour of the new and corporate man. Another brief review of the different parts of the armour will at once make this clear. Take the first three parts-- truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace. One believer is totally inadequate to reveal the measure of truth and righteousness which was revealed in our Lord. Moreover, we have also already seen that these qualities only find adequate expression through the relationship of God's people one with another. Likewise, the only complete witness to the gospel of peace is the church, for it is only the assembly that demonstrates the most important fact of all in our salvation, namely, that we have been lifted out of the realm of self and fused together in the body.

Similarly, faith, salvation and the Word of God find their true and most effective place in the church. While we do not in the least disparage the preciousness of individual faith, yet there is an authority of faith repeated in the assembly which is revealed nowhere else, and which is never promised to the isolated believer. This is plainly brought out in the words of our Lord in Matthew 18:19-20, "Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." The triumph also of a full salvation is made real in our lives through the working of the body, and not least of all through the agreement of faith of which we have just been speaking in appropriating the full victory of Calvary. Lastly, it is in the church that the Word of God takes on its full meaning as we see it expressed in the lives of God's children, and it is in the relationship of the church, therefore, that we are brought into an ever-deeper understanding of the Word and of its implications.

There may certainly be a very precious application of the armour of God to our individual spiritual lives, but its full might and power are revealed in the church, and it is there that we can know the fullness of its protection. It is pre-eminently the armour of the new man.

The exhortation to intercession of vs. 18-20 is a challenge to enlarge our horizons and widen our vision. Paul urges that the scope of our prayers, 'in all perseverance,' should extend from our 'supplication for all saints' (v. 18) to our remembrance of the lone, individual witness for Christ, as he was himself, a prisoner in Rome. We must never allow our vision of the universality of God's purpose to divert our interest and sense of responsibility from the needs of those alongside whom the Lord has placed us in the fellowship of the gospel. On the other hand, we must never become so parochial and limited in vision that we lose our sense of the greatness of God's purpose which embraces those of every clime and tongue and race. We, all of us, have an inescapable obligation one to another.

In our consideration of this epistle, we have seen how the church in any locality is complete in itself. Yet at the same time, the church transcends every geographical barrier, even as it transcends time. It transcends also race and human culture, and while within a local assembly there may be, by the grace of God, a completely adequate supply of spiritual gift to meet the need, it remains true, paradoxically maybe, that where such an assembly, in a spirit of self-sufficiency, closes its doors to an extra-local ministry, it loses something vital that can never be regained; it loses a true sense of the greatness of the purposes of God. The same applies to self-sufficiency in the church on any level. The assembly which looks upon itself as Indian, or British, or Chinese, or belonging to any one race is an anomaly. It has moved off the ground of the church as we find it in the New Testament, for the church is not national. Neither is it admissible to feel that there must be self-sufficiency of ministry within one national group, for in Christ we are a new and spiritual nation, and it is on the basis of that new and separate people alone that the Lord gives the gifts which will build up and edify the church. A desire for self-sufficiency in any sphere which is narrower than the compass of the heavenly citizenship is pride, and pride cannot be honoured of God.

Paul asks for prayer that, prisoner though he is, he might speak boldly as he ought (v. 20). Whether bond or free, he was a constant witness to what God had revealed. To the great truths we have seen in this epistle, the truths of the gospel and of the church, we likewise are to be a testimony.

It is fitting that, as Paul greets the Ephesians in bringing his letter to a close, he should make this request for prayer, for it leaves him and us in our rightful place of subjection and dependence upon Christ our Lord. Throughout the six chapters we have seen Him in the position of pre-eminence. He can occupy no other place. He is the One who lays the foundation of the church, who builds, who sustains.

The Lord is still building His church, and may deign to use us as His instruments, but except He direct the work of our hands, all our labour will be in vain. Let this be our fervent prayer, "Establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it." And unto Him will be the glory in the church.