Identity 6 - I Fight To Be

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places... having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit... (Ephesians 6:10-18)

You have a secure identity and a set destiny in Christ — but there is still a battle to fight, and you must fight to be what you already are.

Fighting Against Insurmountable Odds

There is something compelling about a movie that begins with the tagline "based on a true story" — especially when the main character faces seemingly insurmountable odds. That was the case with the 1993 film Rudy, based on the true-life character Daniel E. Ruettiger, who grew up in southern Illinois. From the time he was a little kid, his ambition was not just to attend Notre Dame University, but to play football for the Fighting Irish.

The problem was that Rudy had a learning disability — he was dyslexic — and his grades weren't where they needed to be. Add to that, he was a small guy, at his biggest only 5'6" and 165 pounds. Everyone always told him, "You'll never be able to do that. You're too little, you're too small, you're not smart enough."

Yet in the 1970s, Rudy made it into the school. He went to community college, got his grades up, was accepted to Notre Dame, and fought hard to overcome every obstacle to make the team. In the last home game of his last season, he played three plays and got a sack — with the great Joe Montana on his team that day. In the film, sitting with the priest at the university, Rudy says, "My whole life people have been telling me what I could do and what I couldn't do, and I've always believed them. I don't want to do that anymore." He fought hard, and he overcame.

Our Identity in Christ

Over the last five studies in Ephesians, we have considered the identity of the Christian. We've seen our origin: Ephesians 2 reveals that we were dead in trespasses and sins. We were separated from God, alienated from Him, standing in the position of His enemies. Ephesians 2:2 tells us we were under the sway of the wicked one, directed by another spirit, walking in uncleanness and lewdness, fulfilling the lusts of our flesh, and under the wrath of God as children of disobedience.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love (Ephesians 2:4), reached out to us when we were dead in trespasses and sins and made us alive. If you are a Christian today — if you've put your faith, trust, and confidence in Jesus for salvation — then your identity has changed. You are no longer dead in trespasses and sins, no longer an enemy of God. He has placed you in Christ.

Because you're in Christ, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Ephesians 1 says you have been chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, given revelation, and given an incorruptible inheritance that does not fade away. Our destiny has changed too. We're no longer headed to an eternity separated from God in what Scripture describes as hell. Instead, we are headed to be with Him forever, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. In the ages to come, God will reveal to us the riches of the glory of His grace, and we will come to fully comprehend the width, depth, length, and height of His love.

How Our Identity Changes Our Purpose

This new identity changes our purpose. Our new "I am" in Christ affects our "I do" — our identity alters our activity. This was true of the Apostle Paul: after he came to know the true I AM, everything changed, and he became a sent one of Jesus Christ. Paul calls the Ephesians "saints and faithful in Christ Jesus" — their position as saints changed their purpose.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

We saw the Christian ethic — that we should walk in those good works, no longer as the rest of the world walks, but worthy of the calling. As Paul says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). And we considered what we can be in Christ — walking in humility, gentleness, meekness, patience, and forgiveness, pressing on to maturity. This is possible as we are saturated with the Spirit ("be filled with the Spirit," Ephesians 5:18) and sanctified by the Scriptures, as God washes us "by the washing of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26).

What We Must Fight to Be

Now we come to the last study. What we should be and can be is the very thing that we must fight to be. We turn our attention to the things we should fight to be, even when others say you can't do it, even when the odds seem insurmountable — just like in Rudy's story. Even when our flesh says, "There's no way you're strong enough," we still need to fight to be those things.

Christianity answers the questions of identity, origin, destiny, and purpose better than any other worldview or philosophy. When you became a Christian, Jesus didn't immediately pull you out and take you home. Even though the victory is won — even though Jesus said "It is finished" — He left you here to live out your faith, to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is working in you to will and to do His good pleasure.

But the sad reality, as we survey the church in America, is that many Christians live a defeated and deflated Christian life. Many know their identity and destiny are set with Him, but right now they're just waiting for the day they get to be with Him. God wants us to walk in victory, and there are keys to victorious living here in Ephesians 6.

There Is a Real Battle

The Christian's identity is certain and their destiny is set, but there is still a battle to fight. There are plenty of Christians who don't recognize that when they became a Christian, they were conscripted into a battle — a battle on three fronts: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The enemy uses the trappings of this world to get at your flesh, and he is very effective at it. There are lustful desires in our sinful nature, contrary to the nature and law of God, and the adversary uses the world to tempt us into them.

But ultimately the victory is won. Jesus declared victory on the cross 2,000 years ago when He said, "It is finished." He defeated sin, death, and Satan. And yet we are still in occupied territory, because this is a world under the sway of the wicked one. Before you were a Christian, there was no battle — for lack of a better way of saying it, you were on team Lucifer, doing everything he wanted, so he didn't fight against you. That's why the unbeliever thinks all this talk of spiritual warfare is goofy. As was said in a popular movie, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

The sad reality is that even in the church, only one-third of Christians believe the devil is real — a 2009 Barna study found that the majority believe he is just a symbol for wickedness in the world. But Jesus believed in actual spiritual hosts of wickedness, and so did the Apostle Paul. If there's no devil, there's no spiritual battle; if there's no battle, there's no reason to prepare or fight; and that explains why so many Christians live deflated lives. The devil is real, and the battle is on — but the ultimate victory is won, and there is still a fight to engage in.

Key One: Our Strength Is in the Lord

Our strength to fight is found in the Lord. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." If your identity is in Christ and you're seeking to walk worthy of your calling, the only way you'll stand is in the strength of the Lord, not your own.

You may be physically fit — even a CrossFitter in tight stretchy pants able to do cleans and burpees. You may be intellectually quick, have stellar church attendance, and have been baptized years ago. None of that will stand against this foe. You'll only stand by the power of the Lord, by His might, with His armor.

As Paul reminds the Corinthians, we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being from ourselves; our sufficiency is from God. He confesses his weakness — "when I am weak, then I am strong" — because it is the power of God's might evident in his life. We need to first confess our weakness and then ask God to enable us by His strength to face this foe.

Key Two: The Fight Is Spiritual, Not Physical

Our fight is spiritual and not physical. Ephesians 6:12 was the first Bible verse I memorized as a kid: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Paul says it first in the negative, then in the positive, emphasizing a truth many American Christians have disregarded.

If you're not a Christian today, you might think this is wacky. But I guarantee that as soon as you put your faith in Christ and say, "I want to follow Jesus," you will experience opposition like you never imagined. Every Christian here knows that's true. Any time you stand up in your faith and say, "I want to serve Him and represent Him well," you encounter a real enemy. Many Christians, because of that, just retreat — "I won't invite my neighbor to church anymore, because every time I do, there's opposition." But that's not okay. The Lord has called us to fight.

If this were a physical foe, it would be easier — we could see him and prepare. But he comes to us with wiles. That word reminds us of Wile E. Coyote, who was terrible at subtlety and always trapped himself, so we picture an enemy who's no real threat. But the Bible shows he is subtle — the cunning serpent of Genesis 3, who came in with craftiness and ensnared humanity into sin, and he's been doing it for thousands of years.

I highly recommend The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, an allegory in which a senior demon coaches his nephew on how to ensnare a Christian "client." One piece of advice: every time the client decides to do something spiritual — read the Bible, pray, go to church — just remind him of his natural tiredness or busyness. Have you experienced that? You sit down to pray and instantly you're tired; you open your Bible and suddenly you're hungry. That is deceptive subtlety. He is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) — you can't see the air, and you can't see him, but the effects are there.

Key Three: Our Armor and Weapons Are Spiritual

Our armor and weapons are spiritual and not physical. If this were a physical battle, every guy in the room would be all over picking up some tangible weapon — "Give me the AR-15 lower build kit." But 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." They are more powerful than missiles and guns.

To be victorious you need the whole armor of God — not just one or two pieces. In verses 14-18, Paul speaks of seven armaments. I love that it's the number seven; it adds to the completeness of it.

The belt of truth. A belt holds everything together and keeps it up. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), so the only way to be victorious is for Jesus to hold everything together in your life. This matters because the devil is revealed as the father of lies (John 8). He says, "You will not surely die." He says, "No one will ever find out; this is done in secret." He lies to justify the wrong behavior you're doing. You need the truth of Christ holding everything together when confronted by the father of lies.

The breastplate of righteousness. This protects your vital organs of faith. We don't stand in our own righteousness — we have none — but in the righteousness of Christ. When the enemy comes in after you've sinned and says, "You're not good enough, He'll never accept you," the Christian confesses, "You're right — I'm unrighteous in myself, but I stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ." "He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Isaiah describes a robe of righteousness — the only way we're protected when the enemy comes in like a flood.

Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This speaks of a sure foundation. The finished work of Jesus on the cross is the only thing that keeps us steadfast. We can't have Jesus plus anything else — not Jesus plus our good works, not Jesus plus baptism, not Jesus plus our tithing. It's Jesus plus nothing; He alone is what we stand upon.

Above all, the shield of faith. There seems to be an essential nature to this one — "above all." With it you can quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. To be protected in this air assault, we need complete, total, utter dependence on Jesus and Jesus alone. Notice the underlying theme: every piece points to trusting completely in God and not in ourselves.

The helmet of salvation. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Paul uses the same metaphor — "as a helmet, the hope of salvation." This is absolute, certain trust in the finished work of Jesus: I am saved not because of anything I have done, but because of what He has done. That guards your mind. When the enemy says, "You'll never be good enough," you say, "You're right — but it's not my work; it's the finished work of Jesus."

The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Hebrews says the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. This is the only offensive weapon in the list. How do we know it's effective? When the enemy tempted Jesus three times in Matthew 4, Jesus responded each time, "It is written... it is written... it is written." Many Christians live defeated lives because they don't know what is written. Over 50% of churches in America have an average teaching length of 25 to 28 minutes — and most Christians only get the word of God in those minutes a week. That's not enough. You need to open the word yourself Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, meditating on it day and night, hiding God's word in your heart. If you find it confusing, that's okay — these things are spiritually discerned. Pray, "God, enlighten my eyes that I may understand Your truth." And on March 21st we have a free, three-hour "Reading the Bible with Purpose" seminar — register at events.cesco.com — to train you to use the sword, so when the enemy comes you can say, "It is written," and watch him flee.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication, being watchful. How can you know an enemy is coming when he's spiritual and you can't perceive him with your senses? You need to be watchful in prayer. In battle you always need to be in communication with headquarters — not just praying three times a day before meals, but praying always, in every circumstance, connected with the Lord and watchful on the rampart.

So how can we be winners in this spiritual battle? Recognize that there is a battle that is spiritual and not physical. Recognize that we cannot stand in our own strength but in the strength of the Lord. And put on all of His armor: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer. In these things, you and I will find victory.

Closing Prayer

Father, we fight in a battle from a position of victory, because You said, "It is finished." But we still fight. So God, I pray that You would enable us — by Your truth, by Your righteousness, by the good news of the gospel, with the sword of the Spirit, with faith and total confidence in You, by prayer — to be victorious, to see victory in our lives and to express it in the way we live, and that all of this would be done ultimately for Your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, amen.