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Ephesians 6:10-11
We now return to Ephesians just in time for Paul to conclude it. But we will just begin Pauls conclusion
this week and hopefully, finish it next week as well as the letter.
Paul has just completed his exhortation to believers concerning relations in their households husband and
wife, parents and children, masters and slaves. He now transitions sharply to bring his letter to a
conclusion. Well read all the way to the end of the letter together, to get an overall sense of what Paul is
saying.
[Read Ephesians 6:10-24]
Paul began this conclusion of his letter with the word finally; the Greek word means from hence
forward. When Paul was finishing a letter to the assemblies, he sometimes used this word to mark off his
concluding remarks from what he had been saying before (Phil 4:8, 2 Thes 3:1).
What had Paul been writing about, in the previous passage? The order that was to characterize the
household of the believer, based on submission. Is Paul continuing with that thought, as he concludes his
letter? No. So Paul uses this transitional word, to set his final comments apart.
The final comments of Paul, then, do not relate in any particular way to what he has been saying in the
letter, just before this. Instead, his comments are a rousing conclusion to the entire letter, and those
comments relate to the reason that Paul sent this letter, in the first place.
We need to revisit the reason for this letter, in order to understand exactly why Paul was concluding his
letter this way.
Remember that at this time, Paul was in prison in Rome his first Roman imprisonment. Epaphras, who
had brought the Word of God to Colosse, had journeyed the over 1000 miles to Rome to visit Paul clearly
an urgent mission.
Epaphras brought news concerning the church in Colosse, as well as those in Hieropolis and Laodicea, two
other cities in the Lycus valley where Epaphras had shared the gospel. Some of this news was not good, as
evidenced by Pauls letter to the Colossians.
It is apparent that false teachers had come into the assemblies, and some of the members of the assemblies
were buying into their lies. So Paul drafted the letter we have in Scripture called Colossians to that
assembly, to refute this false teaching, by reestablishing the believers there in the truth concerning the faith.
The letter to the Colossians was likely the impetus for Pauls letter known as Ephesians. When we began
this study of Ephesians, we discovered that this letter was actually a general letter to the Gentile
assemblies in at least the Roman province of Asia, meant to be circulated among them.
Pauls purpose in writing this letter was to reestablish the assemblies in the truth. The written record was
meant to reinforce the gospel that had been preached to them, by either Paul or another evangelist.
With a written record, it would be more difficult for the false teachers that were infiltrating the assemblies
to add to the truth; to take away from the truth; to change the truth, with their lies. It was means of staying
the corruption that was penetrating the assemblies.

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In his conclusion to Ephesians, Paul is revisiting the purpose for which he wrote this letter. He has now
written down the truth for the believers, concerning all of the spiritual blessings that they have in Christ
Jesus. He has clarified just what they have been delivered from, the basis of their salvation, and their
glorious destiny, as sons of God.
Paul has shown the Gentile believers their equality and unity with their Jewish brethren; theyre one, in
Christ. And Paul has shown them their purpose, as the church: to reflect the glory of God, that the light of
His thinking might shine out into the world, through their obedience to Him.
Based on all that God has done for them in Christ, Paul then exhorted believers to live accordingly; to walk
worthy of the calling with which they were called which they can only do by the Spirit (Eph 5:18).
So Paul had given the believers the truth, in written form. Therefore, as he concluded his general letter,
Paul was exhorting the believers to now stand in the truth they had been given.
Paul speaks of this under the metaphor of a soldier, who is fully armed for combat. Now, this passage has
been greatly misunderstood, and is greatly misused. In fact, it is probably the source of a lot of erroneous
so-called Christian thinking that is found in abundance in the church today.
Prayer warriors. Satans fiery darts of temptation. Wrestling with the devil. These concepts are not
represented in this passage nor anywhere in Scripture.
Misunderstanding of this passage begins with the tendency to apply it to oneself, personally and
individually, instead of allowing the Spirit to reveal the meaning to us. But with the Spirit to teach us, we
can be guided into all truth (Jn 16:13) so that we can see Pauls real meaning here.
For that is the most grievous part about this conclusion of Pauls because it has been so greatly
misunderstood, the church has totally missed this crucial exhortation of Pauls an exhortation they so
desperately needed to have, down through the ages.
Now, we have just positioned ourselves to see this passage in its right perspective by looking at it within
the context of the whole letter, the circumstances under which Paul wrote it, and what his intent was, in
writing the letter. The basic exhortation is stand in the truth.
But we will be able to see much more of what this involves, as we look into the metaphor that Paul uses for
that stand. To do that, we must consider several questions: Who is the enemy? What and where is the
conflict? What is at stake, in this conflict? Who is it that is standing against the enemy? What empowers
their stand against the enemy?
So who is the enemy in this conflict? In verse 11, we see that the stand is against the wiles of the devil.
The word devil is a title for the adversary of God, which means accuser. So this is Satan, the enemy of
the Lord, who accuses both the Lord and men; and since believers are the Lords, he is their enemy, as well.
But Paul does not say that believers are to stand against the devil, as they would against a direct attacker;
they are to stand against what, in verse 11? Against the devils wiles. This means the devils schemes; his
crafty methods. Believers are to stand against the devils deceptions.
So why would the devil be trying to deceive believers? Because there is a war going on, and the devil is
trying to win; deception is one of the key weapons in his arsenal.

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We certainly can tell that there is indeed a war going on, from this passage; and we can see that we are
involved in the war, because were to put on the whole armor of God. But what is this war all about? Paul
assumes that his readers know about this conflict, but I want to make sure you know that, as well.
The conflict of which Paul is speaking has been going on from the beginning of time. But the contenders in
the conflict actually predate even that. One goes back beyond all creation, into eternity past; that would be
the Creator, God. The other contender was part of the first creation that the Creator made, before He
created the heavens and the earth the angelic order of beings.
In eternity past, God determined to make a created being that would be in His image, according to His
likeness (Gen 1:26) His creation of mankind. He would create a physical environment for His human
beings the earth, and all that was in it.
Through the seed of the first man, Adam, would be reproduced the natural bodies of men (Gen 5:3); and if
these men received the Seed of the second Man, the Lord from heaven, through faith in Him, that Seed
would reproduce in them a spiritual body (1 Cor 15:44-47) and Gods purpose would be fulfilled, to have
men in His image.
But before God created human beings, He created the angelic order of beings. Angels were created for the
purpose of being Gods ministers (Heb 1:7), for carrying out the purposes of God in heaven and on earth.
Angels are ministering spirits (Heb 1:14) and as spirits, they are without bodies, and therefore, without
seed, without the ability to reproduce.
Being outside of time, created before time began, they are not subject to aging, but are everlasting beings.
So the number of angels how many there are was set by their Creator, God when He made them; and
that number does not change.
God gave both mankind and angels the freedom to choose life together with Him, or separated and opposed
to Him. Mankind is born into enmity with God due to the sin being brought into the world by Adam (Rm
5:12). They have their lifetime to choose to believe into Christ, and be reconciled to God. But for angels,
who do not have lifetimes, it was different. Scripture bears out that they made their decisions from the
beginning.
The book of Job records that when God laid the foundations of the earth, the sons of God shouted for joy
(Job 38:4-7). Sons of God in this OT context means the angels.
Angels were witnesses to the creation of the earth, as God brought it into existence, and formed it, and
filled it with the many beings He made. They were witnesses when God put the stars in the heavens, whose
names told the story of the One who would be the Savior of the world, and its King. They were witnesses
when God spoke mankind into creation, who would one day be in the very image of God.
Scripture records the sin of one of those angels against God, having witnessed Gods remarkable creation.
Turn to Ezekiel chapter 28. Ezekiel records a prophecy concerning the King of Tyre. It becomes apparent
in the prophecy that the words are really directed not so much to the King, but to the spirit who is the power
behind his throne, whom we know as the devil, Satan.
Satan is another title, that actually means adversary. Satan became the adversary of God; but he was
not originally so. In Ezekiels prophecy, he is not named, but described as an angel. The prophecy goes
back to when this angel was created, as well as to his final destiny, still in the future of our day.

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[Ezekiel 28:12-19]
v. 12 a lamentation is a poem composed to recognize the death of someone; like a funeral dirge. Ezekiel
was prophesying of Satans demise.
As when someones life is recounted at a funeral, the prophet goes back to the beginning of this angels life.
He was the seal of perfection complete in every way. This angel was given all of the wisdom a created
being could hold; and he was a most beautiful being, as well.
v. 13 We know that Satan was in the garden of Eden, where he took the form of the serpent, in order to
entice mankind to sin (Gen 3:1, Rev 12:9). But in this passage, the prophet continues to extol the virtues
and privileges that God gave this angel, and doesnt speak of his iniquity until verse 15.
Therefore, I think that the mention of this angel being in Eden in this position in the passage is referring to
this angels activity there before his acts of enticement took place. It is possible that he ministered for the
LORD God in Eden at first.
Like the timbrels and pipes, which are emblematic of this angels beautiful singing voice, the stones
mentioned may simply be emblematic of his beauty. He was covered with beauty by his Creator; but that
beauty would be destroyed forever by his own heart.
v. 14-15 A cherub, cherubim in the plural, are a particular angelic order. In Scripture, they are often seen to
be guardians. Ezekiel describes Satan as the anointed cherub who covers, established by God Himself.
What did he cover? In that this angel was on the holy mountain of God, it is likely that he guarded over the
very throne of the Most High God, in heaven. As there is evidence in Scripture that angels have ranks as
well as orders (Rev 12:7), this would suggest that Satan was a high-ranking angel, indeed.
Fiery stones here may be an emblem of the holiness of God (Deut 5:4); our God is a consuming fire
(Deut 4:24). In that Satan walked back and forth in the midst of them, we can see that idea that there was
nothing to condemn him; as verse 15 says, he was perfect in his ways from the day he was created.
Until iniquity was found, in this angel. We will look at this more in a moment. This angel had been created
in all completeness, a perfect creation.
But God gave the angels, like men, freedom of choice; and this angel chose to rebel against God, and sin.
Iniquity was found in his heart, in the choice that he made.
v. 16 the word violence here means extreme wickedness. What had caused this? The abundance of his
trading, or merchandizing. This term reflects back upon the King of Tyre, and his trading empire, but in
Satans case, what had he traded? He exchanged the truth that he was just a creation of God for a lie, as
we will see shortly.
Therefore, God cast Satan out from the highest heaven, the home of God, as a profane thing; for Satan was
now outside the sacred; he had defiled himself with his iniquity.
He could no longer walk in the midst of the fiery stones, because he was no longer pure; his judgment came
out of their midst. He was no longer perfect in his way; instead, he chose wickedness to be his way. And
having chosen, he would never deviate from that path.

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Ezekiel went on to describe Satans iniquity.

v. 17a Satans iniquity was that his heart was lifted up, in pride. He was full of wisdom and perfect in
beauty, as a creation of God. But in Satans heart, he aspired to be more than that.
It wasnt enough for him to be a perfect creation of God. He wanted to be like God to be like the
Creator, Himself. Ezekiel says that in this way, Satan corrupted his wisdom; he was deceived in his heart,
to conceive of himself that way.
In the remainder of this passage, Ezekiel prophecies of Satans future destiny; first cast from heaven to the
earth; then to the pit of the abyss; and finally, to the Lake of Fire.
v. 17b-19 In the Lake of Fire, he will be no more forever.
The prophet Isaiah described the iniquity of this angel in more detail. Turn to Isaiah chapter 14.
Once again, we have a prophecy concerning an earthly king the King of Babylon. Then the prophet
begins to speak of the one who is the power behind his throne. Here we learn that the angels name is
Lucifer, which means shining one, perhaps denoting his brilliant beauty.
[Isaiah 14:12-17]
v. 12 Now, you can see that this first verse goes right to the end, to the casting out of Satan from the
heavens to the earth. To weaken the nations means to incapacitate them; to overwhelm them. This gives a
sense of the power of this enemy.
The judgment of being cast out comes as a consequence of Satans iniquity. Notice that it is a just
retribution; as Satan exalted himself in his pride, lifting himself very high in his mind, Gods judgment on
him will be to bring Satan very low. The end of this prophecy will show just how low he will be brought.
v. 13-14 This was Satans aspiration, and it continues to be so. Notice all of the I will statements; Satan
is purposing in his heart that his will will be done.
Do angels have thrones? There arent any mentioned in Scripture for them. The stars of God is another
term for angels, who shine forth the glory of God (Job 38:7).
If Satan plans to exalt his throne which he will have, in his mind above the stars of God, what is the
position he is aspiring to? To the position above created beings. Thats the position of the Creator.
The mount of the congregation is the kingdom of heaven, where the congregation of angels dwell. To sit
on the farthest sides of the north again suggests the throne in the highest heaven - above the congregation
of angels Gods throne.
Most High is a title for God. In the Hebrew its El Elyon, and it carries the meaning, the Possessor of
Heaven and Earth.
Through His prophet, the LORD God has laid bare the ambitions of this rebellious angel, who refuses to
accept that he is a created being, and covets the very throne of God; His rule over heaven and earth. But let
us see what the LORD God has to say about Satans aspirations.

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v. 15 The judgment of the LORD will be a just retribution. He will tear Satans lofty ambitions down.
The book of Revelation shows us that Satan will be cast to the earth in the middle of the seven-year
Tribulation, the hour of trial which will test those who dwell on the earth (Rev 3:10, 12:7-9).
After his forces are destroyed by the Lord, Satan will be cast in the pit of the abyss for the 1000-year reign
of Christ on the earth.
At the end of that reign, Satan will be released, and will deceive the nations once more; those who follow
him will be destroyed by the Lord. Then Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire his final destination
(Rev 20:1-10).
Like Ezekiel, Isaiah records the astonishment of people at the demise of Satan. I think that this is not
meant literally (Satan is a spirit), but is used by the prophet to emphasize the magnitude of the LORDs
victory over Satan in this future day, when his thinking will be crushed right out of his head (Gen 3:15).
v. 16-17 Notice the power that Satan is said to wield in the world. The Hebrew word for man can simply
mean individual; remember this prophecy concerns the King of Babylon, also. The actions attributed to
Satan particularly reflect the time during the Great Tribulation, when, having been cast down from heaven
to earth, he pursues his agenda with a vengeance, knowing that his time is short (Rev 12:12).
To make the earth tremble and shake kingdoms suggests Satans world system, and his powerful
influence at the highest levels of politics, as well as economic and religious systems. The whole world lies
under the wicked one (1 Jn 5:19).
To make the world as a wilderness and destroy its cities gives the sense of the destructiveness of this
enemy of God, and his utter disregard for men. Not opening the house of his prisoners is a description of
Satans oppression and cruelty. Truly he is the enemy of both God and men.
Satan began to fulfill his aspiration to be like the Most High God in the garden of Eden. There he held out
the same temptation to the woman that he himself had taken in; to be like God (Gen 3:5).
Satans rebellious act was the beginning of the conflict, between Satan and God. By what he was doing,
Satan was effectively declaring war on God, contending with Him for possession of the earth for the
creation of mankind, inhabiting it and that war has been going on ever since. This is a spiritual conflict,
but it takes place on earth, because the war is for the souls of men.
In the face of the temptation held out to her, the woman, desiring to know good and evil for herself, took
the bait and in so doing, transgressed the command of God. The man, desiring the woman, also took the
bait and transgressed Gods command (Gen 3:6).
Both were drawn away by their own strong desires for self; the woman, by the lust of the mind; the man, by
the lust of the flesh. Lust had conceived, and given birth to sin; and sin, now full-grown through their
actions, brought forth death (Ja 1:14-15).
How did this benefit Satan? He had managed to create a separation between God and His creation of
mankind, through the first couples sin. And men born to them, born of the flesh, add their own sin to that,
widening the gap, so to speak.

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That gap between God and men in the flesh would provide Satan with an in with men. Also, men born of
the flesh do not have the Holy Spirit. In the dark to Gods thinking, they are open to other thinking; Satans
thinking. Finally, now that death had been introduced into the creation of mankind, men could be held by
their fear of death, by Satan.
So Satan created a system, through willing men, which was designed to exploit these newly-acquired
fallibilities of the creation of mankind: a system designed to engage their sinful lusts; to educate them with
thinking that is anti-God and anti-Christ; and to control them through their fear of death, through religion
(Heb 2:14-15).
Men, born into this world, are born into the system that Satan has built up on the face of Gods earth. They
are held prisoner in it, through their bondage to sin and death. And Satan is the strong man, who will not
open the house of his prisoners for this is how he is fulfilling his aspiration to be like the Most High God,
beginning with his attempt to be the possessor of the earth.
But one day, a stronger Man came. Turn to Matthew chapter 12. Jesus was telling the Pharisees about the
authority by which he cast out demons.
[Matthew 12:22-29]
v. 22-23 The multitude recognized this was a fulfillment of Scripture concerning the Messiah (Lk 4:18-19,
Is 61:1, 2); but the religious rulers refused to recognize this.
v. 24 They were saying that the authority of Jesus to cast out demons came from Satan.
v. 25-26 Jesus is saying that casting out a demon is defeating Satans purpose to keep men enslaved; Satan
would never authorize that.
v. 27 The point that Jesus is making is that the Pharisees cant cast out demons, and they know it. If these
Pharisees truly believed in God, they could, by Gods authority, cast out demons; since they cant do it, this
demonstrates that they are not of God.
v. 28 When Jesus says that the kingdom of God has come upon you, what He is saying is that the King
is here. He is the King the Messiah and as He casts out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, the
fact that He is Gods anointed King is proven.
Now Jesus gives an analogy that demonstrates what He is saying, about the authority by which He is
casting out demons.
v. 29 The strong man Satan must first be bound. Is this something that ordinary men can do? No. But
Jesus could do this, because He is no ordinary man He is the God-man God Himself. He came to this
earth, to bind the strong man, and to plunder his house.
Jesus came to deliver men from the bondage of sin, by His death in their stead. And He delivered them
from bondage to death, as well, through the power of His resurrection. The strong man would not open the
house of his prisoners (Is 14:17), but Jesus opened it, and set the prisoners free.

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Now turn to John chapter 12. Just before the hour of His glorification on the cross, Jesus was at the temple
speaking to a crowd there. He spoke of Himself as the Seed-grain, who must fall into the ground and die,
in order to reproduce much grain referring to the many sons of God that would receive the Life He
brought out of His death (Jn 12:24). Then Jesus spoke further about what would come out of His work on
the cross.
[John 12:31-32] Lifted up is a euphemism for crucifixion. Those who choose to put their faith in Jesus
are drawn to Him, on the cross; they are crucified with Him, by which they die out of that old creation in
Adam, and are justified; they are freed from all charges of sin and guilt, and become righteous.
Crucified with Christ, they are then buried with Him separated from this world system they are
sanctified unto God.
And then they are raised with Christ, alive to God, a new creation in Christ Jesus they are glorified, in
Him. This is the plundering of the strong mans house, as Jesus frees Satans prisoners from sin and death.
When Jesus hour had fully come, wicked men would declare their ruling and unjustly condemn Jesus to
death; but God would vindicate Jesus, by raising Him from the dead, overturning their ruling (Acts 2:2224).
That ruling by the Highest Court, the overturning of death with resurrection Life, would be the
pronouncement of judgment instead on Satan and his world system. Satans system is condemned to
destruction; and Satan himself will be cast out.
Meanwhile, the Light of the world has come Jesus and as each man chooses to follow Him, they walk
out of the darkness of Satans world system into the light of Life everlasting (Jn 8:12).
So now, well return to our passage in Ephesians. Lets reconsider our original set of questions. Who is the
enemy? Thats easy; the devil, Satan, and those who are in league with him, whom we will discuss next
time.
What is the conflict, and where does it take place? The conflict is a war between God and Satan, a spiritual
conflict that takes place on the earth.
And what is at stake, in this conflict? Whats at stake are the souls of men.
But which souls? For instance, is the soul of a believer at stake, in this conflict? No. That soul has been
redeemed by the blood of Jesus; it has been set free from sin and death. That soul can never be taken back
by the enemy, for the Father and the Son have that soul firmly in their grasp.
Turn to John chapter 10. Although Jesus was referring to His sheep in this passage, meaning those Jews
who would believe in Him, what He says here is true for all who believe in Him.
[John 10:27-30] Those who hear the voice of Jesus and follow Him are given everlasting Life by Him.
They cannot lose their salvation, for it is His gift to them. Their souls are secure in the hands of the Father
and the Son.
Turn to Colossians chapter 2. Paul was showing the great victory at the cross on our behalf.
[Colossians 2:11-15]

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v. 11-12 here Paul mixes metaphors, equating the circumcision of the heart with baptism. In both pictures,
by faith in Jesus, the body of flesh is put off, and the believer is raised to new life in Christ.
v. 13-14 Jesus took all of our sins upon Himself on the cross; He put away our sins. Can they be charged
against us then? No.
v. 15 The image here is of a conqueror who has completely vanquished his foes, and routed them. They
are now his captives, as displayed in his triumphal procession for all to see.
Principalities and powers refers here to all evil spirits. Satan and his minions are defeated foes. Jesus
has disarmed them; it was by sin and death that they held men captive. Jesus triumphed over them, at the
cross.
In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes, But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:57).
In Christ, His victory is our victory. His defeated foe is our defeated foe. Our souls are no longer in the
contest; they have been won by our Lord, Jesus Christ. John wrote, Greater is He who is in us than he
who is in the world (1 Jn 4:4).
Greater is our Lord. Is Satan omniscient all knowing? No; his wisdom is limited, as a created being, and
it has been corrupted by self-deception.
Is Satan omnipresent can he be present anywhere, and everywhere? No he can only be in one place at
one time, and he can only be where the Lord permits him to go; hes on a chain, so to speak.
Is Satan omnipotent is he all-powerful? No; and again, he can only do what the Lord permits him to do.
This is not at all an equal contest; our Lord is greater, and in fact, already has the victory; and in Christ, so
do we.
But meanwhile, the war continues to rage for the souls of men, because there are so many men who are still
in the dark. Men who are still in Adam dont recognize the victory of Jesus at the cross on their behalf, and
so it is not yet their victory. And the enemy would like them to stay in the dark, lest the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ should shine on them (2 Cor 4:4).
It is Jesus who must wage this war against the enemy only He has the wisdom and the power to overcome
Satan. But Jesus is in heaven, and the war is for the souls of men who are on earth.
Its a spiritual conflict; but the battleline is here. Its Jesus who will make the advances, but who must hold
the line? The Body of Christ. And how do they hold it? By standing in the truth. The truth must be
preserved at all costs, for that is how men are made free (Jn 8:32).
So what we begin to see, in what Paul is saying here, is that Paul is not talking about the individual
believer, and his personal battles with temptation, or with sin, or with the enemy.
He is talking about the war for souls that are still lost to God, that are being won by Christ. He is talking
about our part in that war, as members of Christs Body, collectively.

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And what is that part? Paul says it four times in this passage; our part is to stand. And what we will see
next week is that Paul shows there is only one way that the members of the Body can stand against the
wiles the deceptions of the cunning craftiness of the enemy; by being fully protected by Gods armor.
Next week: Finish the letter; Col 4.

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