Captivity is not Defeat

Welcome! Today we continue our series The War, which explores spiritual warfare in depth, taking as its key text the passage on the armor of God in Ephesians 6. So as to have context to today’s passage, and as a reminder of our past recent messages, here are the first half of the verses we have looked at so far in this series:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  – Eph. 6:10-13

Scripture has this amazing ability to speak different things to different people, giving them just what they need at the time they need it. Really, this is not just the Scripture itself doing it (as the words don’t change), but it is the Holy Spirit speaking through the Scripture. For me, preparing for this message, the word that stood out to me more than any other was the word “when.” It says when the day of evil comes.

I firmly believe that the entire Bible, both Old Testament and New, historical books, poetic books, prophetic books, gospels, and letters, all can powerfully speak into our lives today, teaching us about who God really is, who we really are, how He has acted for us (ultimately dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead demonstrating a fulfillment of His promise to give us eternal life with Him), and how we are to act for Him (living lives of gratitude and obedience to all that He tells us to do). Although some instructions in the Bible were for specific people at specific times (for example, the ceremonial aspects of Levitical law), all instructions in the Bible are valuable to study and contain insights and principles that apply to our lives today. Other instructions in the Bible I believe are universally for all people. I believe that nearly everything Paul wrote in his letters to the various early churches is in this latter category. I don’t believe the instructions were only for the churches he specifically wrote to at that time.

And so, I believe that these verses apply to all of us. We all are to put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes to us, we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand.

What are some examples of this day of evil for us today? It could be battles over succumbing to temptation, such as a battle to stay away from pornography. It could be battles over having proper loving attitudes towards other believers inside or outside the church, or, more specifically towards spouses or children or siblings or parents. It could be battling against believing wrong things about God, or about self-image. It could be battles for someone else, persevering in prayer for them or gaining the courage to share the gospel with them. Not so much in America but certainly in many other countries in the world, it could be battles with self over persevering despite persecution. All these things are spiritual battles against Satan and his demons because they love to get in the middle of things and whisper falsehoods to us and to those around us.

I certainly don’t believe all of us will experience every type of battle I have described (and those are only a few examples of what, in terms of variety, is likely uncountable), but I do believe that all of us will experience some of these kinds of battles. I believe the phrase “when the day of evil comes” means that each one of us, each believer, without exception, will experience such days of evil. Many of us will face many such days.

And so the command to stand firm, wearing all of the spiritual armor, is a directive to all of us. There are no safe places in The War. Everyone, at times, will be on the front lines. Ephesians 6 continues:

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. – Eph. 6:14-18

As I have mentioned previously, I encourage you to go to our website to read transcripts or listen to messages you have missed about the specific types of armor and their function. Last week Tim spoke to us about prayer; although it doesn’t have a physical representation in terms of armor, prayer is undoubtedly one of our most powerful and important weapons.

Tim spoke briefly about the utter mystery of prayer. How does it work? Do our prayers change the universe? Do they change God’s mind? Doesn’t God already know everything, and doesn’t He already desire the good things we pray for far more than we do?

That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are told to pray in the same breath that we are told to put on the armor. Led by the Holy Spirit, Paul tells us to do all these things because we are in a real war, and unless we do them, we will enter the war defenseless, and not only will we become casualties of The War, so will those who depend on us. Even if we don’t understand how prayer works, it is incontrovertible that prayer is both commanded of us and that it works.

Our main passage today continues the theme of prayer and consists of Ephesians verses 19 and 20:

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. – Eph. 6:19-20

What I would like to do is to break down these two verses phrase by phrase so that we really appreciate all that is packed in here.

First is Pray also for me. There are eight times in New Testament letters that Paul asks for prayer: Romans 15:30-33, 2 Cor. 1:10-11, Eph. 6:19-20, Phil. 1:19-20, Col. 4:2-4, I Thess. 5:25, 2 Thess. 3:1-2, and Philemon 22. The passage most similar to our Eph. 6 passage is the one from Colossians:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. – Col. 4:2-4

The theme of the spiritual battle is also apparent in the passage in II Thessalonians:

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. – II Thess. 3:1-3

The passage in I Thessalonians simply asks for prayer, with no specifics:

Brothers and sisters, pray for us. – I Thess. 5:25

In contrast is this request in Romans:

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. – Rom. 15:30-32

In this passage we see that prayer is a way we join in others’ struggles. When we pray for missionaries, we join in their missionary work! In a very real way, our work in prayer for them is every bit as important as their work on the field. Here Paul asks for prayers for travel safety and for unity.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. – 2 Cor. 1:8-11

This passage near the beginning of the book of 2 Corinthians is more of an indirect rather than a direct appeal for prayer. I include this verse because of how much it has meant to me personally this week. As some of you know, I have struggled with my health over the last two months, and a sequence of tests, first in the local doctor’s office, then as outpatient tests at the hospital, and most recently meeting with a cardiologist, has led to me being scheduled to have a heart catheterization procedure at the hospital on Tuesday morning.

Playing armchair quarterback in self-diagnosis, I was convinced the issues had to do with my lungs, not my heart, and I suppose that is still possible, though unlikely. Far more likely is that I am experiencing complete or partial blockages in one or more heart arteries, and I may need to have one or more stents placed in my arteries during the procedure, depending on what is discovered during the procedure itself. It is also possible that I would need a separate bypass operation. If neither stents nor a bypass is needed, I will be able to go home the same day, but otherwise, I will probably be in the hospital for several days.

The verse, “Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death” has occurred to me in all this. This is scary stuff! But at this point I can at least partially go along with the sentiment of the next verse: “This happened that [I] might not rely on [myself], but on God…” and what comes next I hold on to and am greatly encouraged by: “…who raises the dead. He has delivered us [and I insert myself into Paul’s company here] from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him [I] have set [my] hope that He will continue to deliver [me],” and then we get to the indirect rather than direct request part – “as you help [me] by your prayers.” And in faith I cling to and look forward to the next verse: “Then many will give thanks on [my] behalf for the gracious favor granted [me] in answer to the prayers of many.”

It’s a powerfully encouraging passage, and I encourage you to appropriate it for yourself when you go through hard struggles just as I am doing now.

A similar kind of indirect request to prayer occurs in Philippians 1:

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. – Phil. 1:18b-19

Going back to our Ephesians verse:

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. – Eph. 6:19-20

With regards to “Pray also for me,” the one thing I would point out is the humility and transparency of Paul, Paul the Apostle. Neither being looked up to by so many people nor being able to look back on all he has done have gone to his head. When he asks for prayer he is transparent and enough not only to ask for prayer at all, but even to admit that he can struggle with boldness.

Although I am certainly no Paul, I do learn by his example, and so I ask you to pray also for me on Tuesday morning.

Let’s go on to the next phrase: “That whenever I speak.” What strikes me from these words is the “whenever.” We tend to separate out when we speak about Christian things from when we don’t. Now it is true that some jobs place restrictions on what you can say in your job, such as how an elementary public school teacher would get in trouble for telling their class that they will go to hell unless they put their faith in Jesus Christ, but our natural tendency is to go way too far the other way. If you become friends with a coworker, then as long as you use wisdom and tact, there is no reason you cannot talk about spiritual things. Now there is always a chance the person will severely over-react and get you in trouble with your boss, but Satan likes to get us to think this chance is 90% when in reality it is more like 0.1%.

We also tend to get stuck in ruts in our friendships. First we tell ourselves that we need to become good friends before we bring up spiritual subjects. I think Satan loves to trick us into thinking that our friendship is never good enough, when in fact, our not opening up to the other person about the most important thing in our lives, our relationship with Jesus Christ, actually prevents us from ever becoming good friends! People sense when we hold back from them the things we most care about even if they don’t know what those things are. Paul’s “whenever” may seem extreme to you, so maybe start with “sometime today when I speak”.

The next phrase is surprising to me, although it shouldn’t be. “Words may be given me.” I expect Paul to pray that whenever he speaks, he would use the right words. But my version puts the burden on Paul (or on me, if I am praying it for myself), whereas Paul’s version asks God to provide the words. His prayer is for a gift from God, a gift of words. Note that Paul is praying for a miracle here, not just for good luck with his own abilities.

Jesus promised His disciples exactly this:

When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. – Luke 12:11-12

And we see this fulfilled in the Book of Acts. God desires to fulfill this in your life as well! It is a great prayer to ask that words would be given you as you seek to share your faith with others and explain the gospel to them.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. – Eph. 6:19-20

Paul continues, “So that I will fearlessly make known…” Note that Paul would not ask this unless he struggled with being fearful. Now if you look at the stakes at the time of Paul, and you look at all the things that happened to him, his being fearful makes perfect sense. Persecution, even severe persecution, was a constant risk and an all-too-frequent reality.

It is tempting to compare our situation with that of Paul, but my goal is not to make you feel ashamed of being fearful. Instead, my goal is to get you to pray like Paul. Pray that God will help you to fearlessly make known…

“The mystery of the gospel.” When I first started thinking about this passage, I thought Paul was saying that the gospel is a mystery, but I think the emphasis should not be on the word “mystery,” but on the word “known.” The gospel is a mystery only until it is known. Not that we totally understand all things related to the gospel; far from it! We know that God so loved people that he sent is only Son to die a horrible death on the cross and also experience the full wrath of God for man’s sins, enabling man through faith in Him to experience reconciliation with God, but do we know why God would so love us sinners? We can say it is His character, but His character is so unlike us, so far above us, that our real understanding is very shallow.

But the presentation of the gospel does make mysteries known. How can I have eternal life? How do I go to heaven? Why did Jesus die? What does the resurrection mean? All these questions and many more mysteries are answered by the gospel. Paul asks for prayer that he could make these mysteries known to those he talks to.

He goes on: “For which I am an ambassador…”. What exactly is an ambassador? Most of us have never met a professional ambassador – although I know there are exceptions in this room. A website called sokanu says, “An ambassador is a diplomatic representative that attends international meetings, banquets and parties and acts as a figurehead for their country of origin. […] The foreign country, known to ambassadors as the host nation, serves as their base of operation for promoting international relations while concentrating on specific areas of government, including trade, military involvement and cultural relationships. An ambassador will smooth relations between countries, especially in the highly sensitive areas of politics and trade. In addition, they send information about economic and political development in their host country to their home abroad. Ambassadors also assist travelers from their home country, explain foreign policy and evacuate refugees from hostile environments. Due to the sensitive nature of their careers, ambassadors perform all of their duties with a diplomatic demeanor, ensuring a positive relationship between their country of residence and home nation.” Sounds like a pretty cushy job, doesn’t it? At least that part about banquets and parties doesn’t sound too bad.

Well, ambassadors in New Testament Bible times had a very different kind of job. They were not assigned to an embassy in a foreign country, and they also didn’t have the authority to make any kinds of decisions on behalf of their leaders. Instead, their primary role was to deliver communications from one leader to another. When Paul uses the term ambassador, he is not thinking of a cushy job going to parties, but he is thinking about lots of travel, and he is thinking about delivering a message – the gospel message – from his leader, Jesus Christ. Paul himself, like an ambassador, was primarily about relaying the message. This message is a take-it-or-leave-it kind of message. There is no negotiation with God. Salvation is offered as a free gift, but the gift must be received, and there are no alternate pathways to entering into God’s good graces, so to speak.   

Paul continues “For which I am an ambassador” with “In chains.” Now it was a high honor to be selected as an ambassador, and ambassadors often went to their destination with servants, gifts, and in general, quite an entourage. The goal was to “soften up” with sovereign with these things so that they would be receptive to the message. The ambassador was the leader of his entourage, and he dressed the part: fancy colorful clothes, and ornamental chains worn around his neck. Upon arrival, ambassadors would be ushered in to see the king, and they would be treated with great respect. Is this what Paul meant?

In a word, “no,” but this is play on words. Paul certainly knew about the chains and fancy clothes real ambassadors wore, but what Paul meant by “in chains” were the ones that bound him. Paul was under arrest, and most of the time he was chained to a Roman soldier. How the public viewed a prisoner such as Paul was about as opposite from an ambassador in his finery as possible! Much like today, people tended to assume people were guilty if they were even accused, and even more so if they were arrested. Even some believers turned away from Paul. But Paul was not ashamed of his chains. Paul considered a high honor to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ.

You too are an ambassador! But what kind of ambassador are you? Are you the kind that wears fancy chains and goes to parties or the kind that risks unpopularity and rejection for the sake of the gospel? I am reminded of one of Jesus’ “woes”:

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. – Luke 6:26

This of course doesn’t mean we should go out and be deliberately offensive, but when we make a change to having a share-you-faith lifestyle, there are some people who will find sharing the gospel offensive no matter what you do.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. – Eph. 6:19-20

“Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” It seems to me that Paul is really requesting prayer for two things here. First, he is asking for prayer that he would declare the gospel, period. He is asking for prayer that he would do this all the time, day in and day out. What he is requesting, therefore, is a lifestyle change.

I probably don’t need to tell you that with my recent medical diagnosis I am also thinking and praying about lifestyle change. There is pretty convincing medical evidence that changing to a diet of no meat, no fat, and no oil can stop the progression of heart disease and in fact reverse some of the damage. This is not well known, but there is a doctor who has been pioneering work in this for over 30 years, and he has over 30 years of patient histories to prove this. He has published his results, but his results are not well known in the medical community. The reason for this is that most doctors have never had a patient who actually went to and kept on this diet. Probably most doctors agree it is a good diet – some might at first worry that cutting out all oils is actually dangerous, but if you look at the actual diet you realize that what you are really doing is cutting out all added oils and fats. You are still getting up to 10% of your calories from fats, because it is impossible to remove them entirely. Oils and fats are in small amounts in most plant-based food (and in high amounts in some – but most of the high-fat plant foods are banned from the diet). 

People diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes (Type II), are routinely told to change their diets, to have what amounts to a lifestyle change. But how many people, when told this, actually do the change? My understanding is that it is such a small amount that when people actually make this change, doctors are happily surprised, because it is far, far more the exception than the rule.

Lifestyle change is difficult. Paul knows this, and this is why he is asking for prayer. I also ask for prayer and for wisdom as I consider switching to this diet myself. I know the diet really works, because my father and stepmother have been on it for several years. My father went on it shortly after he had a heart attack. Due to risks associated with his age, he did not have the procedure I will go through on Tuesday. But he stayed very faithful to the diet, and he exercised, and not only did his heart-related symptoms reverse themselves, but he had restoration of kidney function, a dramatic drop in cholesterol numbers, and other benefits. So I can’t doubt that the diet works.

If you think I am telling you all this so that you will switch to this diet, you are missing my point. Really, I am telling me all this so that I will have the courage to switch to this diet, to make this lifestyle change, if it does turn out that I have heart disease. But what I am saying here applies to other kinds of lifestyle changes.

Let’s talk about a lifestyle change to staying free of pornography. Many of the issues are the same. There is no question that pornography is bad for you – it is bad for your soul. It’s even bad for your brain and for your capability for intimacy – there are many studies confirming this. To break free is difficult. It requires a lifestyle change. It would be wise to ask for prayer. Just as Paul asks that God would give him the words, a person seeking this lifestyle change should be asking that God would give him the strength.

These types of things are true for any physical addiction – smoking, drugs, alcohol – as well. Attempting such a lifestyle change without dependence on God will fail for most people, but truly depending on God, anyone can succeed. This doesn’t mean that there will never be a setback, but it means that lifestyle change, by God’s strength and grace, can happen and will happen to those who truly seek His help and learn to rely on Him.

Even if you are not stuck in a habitual sin or a physical addiction, I encourage you to think about lifestyle change. I think for many of us, Paul’s very prayer is appropriate. We are timid about our faith. We don’t share the good news of Jesus Christ with people around us. It would require a lifestyle change to become a person who could do that. It would require God’s words, God’s power: a miracle. I still have a long way to grow in this area, but I have come a long way in this area as well, thanks to God.

Many years ago I had a dream that was bolder and stranger and more profound than any I have had before or since. Most dreams you soon forget, but this one was different for me – I kept it stored in my memories and would reflect on it from time to time. There were multiple separate parts to this dream. In the first part I woke up in a beautiful park, on perfect grass, surrounded by perfectly manicured plants and trees. I was wearing all white clothing. Someone came by also dressed in white – a person who had dwarfism, not a fictional being like in The Hobbit but an actual person – asked me what I was. I had no idea what he meant. He then proceeded to list a few things – they were more like strange job descriptions than anything else, and I unfortunately don’t remember any more what they were – but I, utterly confused, shook my head no or said I didn’t think so to each of them. Then another person came into view. He was dressed in white. I think he also had dwarfism but the details are hazy. He was peering intently at the grass, and when he saw a blade that was even a tiny bit too tall, he would take out these tiny scissors and cut it and put the clipping in this small bag he head. The first person pointed at him and asked if I was a grass cutter or grass clipper – I can’t remember the exact term. It looked like back-breaking work to me, so again I shook my head no or said I didn’t think so. Then he looked me over and said I looked like a tree trimmer. He ushered me towards one of the trees. He pointed out that I also had a small bag and those tiny scissors. He told me to start climbing. Now I’m the guy who never could climb the rope in the gym in PE. This tree had no branches for at least 20 feet. This was impossible. But he kept ushering me to try, so, feeling ridiculous, I kind of hugged the tree and tried to climb. I took a step, and another, and another. I was amazed as I climbed up the tree without even feeling tired. I got up to the branches and leaves and saw a leaf that was brown. He encouraged me to cut it, so I took out my scissors, cut the leaf, and put it in my bag. “Yes, you’re definitely a tree trimmer,” he said, excitedly. I think he told me to go higher, but as I started to do so, I lost my grip and lost contact with the tree. But I didn’t fall! The person below laughed, and as I looked over my shoulder, I discovered I had huge wings!

Now don’t over-analyze this. I don’t believe we become angels when we die – scripture seems to be pretty clear that angels are angels and people are people. But several years later, in graduate school at the University of Illinois, some people in our church went together to a Michael Card concert. At the concert we met a guy who was super friendly and open about his faith. I remember wishing I could be more like that, because I had been super secretive about my faith. None of my professors or non-Christian classmates, including good friends, even knew I was a Christian at all, let alone that I had come to faith from atheism while in grad school. Anyway, someone asked him what he did for a living, and he said he was a tree trimmer. This meant nothing to anyone else in the room, but to me it was a life-changing moment. The whole dream came flooding back to me, and I had a strong sense that the Holy Spirit was saying to me that He wanted to make me into someone like him.

Lifestyle change! God can do this for you. He desires to do so! Ask Him!

The second and final thing Paul is asking for here is that he would declare the gospel fearlessly. There are different kinds of fear. I don’t think Paul means that he wants to share without feeling that little bit of initial nervousness that is completely natural when you move to a spiritual conversation. I think he means that he does not want to shy away from speaking at all. He doesn’t want to become paralyzed by fear, to value the world more than God, to even worry about whether the consequences of sharing his faith could lead to his death. He wants to live and to die for Christ.