How We Act | Fight Right | The Strategic Level - Venture Church

How We Act | Fight Right | The Strategic Level

Austin Rammell

Sunday, June 21, 2026

God's People: How We Act

armor defeat evil equipped evil Fight good Strength

Ephesians 6:10-20 is not a motivational speech to go to war; it’s a briefing to equip us to win the war we are already in. One might even say it's Paul’s version of an Operations Order (OPORD) because it includes aspects of all five components of an OPORD. As with so many things in the military, the five components of an OPORD are outlined with an acronym—SMEAC:

Situation - The big picture and context of the enemy and the battle being fought.
Mission - The primary objective and critical tasks that define victory.
Execution – How to actually fight and win the battle.
Administration – The logistical support that is key to success.
Command and Signal – The chain of command and how communication will work.

It would be fun to geek out for a minute and show you which parts of this passage address which component of an OPORD, but for time’s sake, I’m not going to do that. However, there’s some other military planning terminology that the passage easily fits into that I do want to use. The three most basic levels of military planning are strategic planning (the why and the what), operational planning (the where and the how), and tactical planning (the actions). With that in mind, let’s read the entire passage, and you will see how Paul addresses all three levels of the military planning pyramid in Ephesians 6:10-20.

The first level is the strategic level, and it’s the part of the passage we are going to dig into today. Paul writes,

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:10-13)

The next part of the passage is what we will study next week, and it addresses the operational level of the battle.

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Ephesians 6:14-17)

Finally, in two weeks, I’ll be teaching the third part of the passage: the tactical level. Paul writes,

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:18-20)

With a mindset ready to engage with the military metaphor Paul uses, let’s dig into the first level of the planning pyramid in this passage: strategic planning.

The strategic level provides the content for the Situation and Mission elements of an OPORD. It addresses the big-picture, foundational stuff that provides the necessary clarity, focus, and direction to understand what success looks like and the keys to achieving it. Specifically,

Ephesians 6:10-13 clarifies 4 important strategic truths about the war we are in.

The first strategic truth is that …

1.The STRENGTH we need belongs to the LORD. (6:10)

a. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

b. Be strong” is endunamooō, “to make strong, to endue with strength.” The idea is, “to clothe one’s self with strength as one puts on a garment.” Here the verb is in the passive voice, “be continually strengthened.” The qualifying phrase, “in the Lord,” defines the strengthening as Christian strengthening, such as can take effect only in union with the Lord (Expositors). The rendering, “be strong,” could encourage one to self-effort at being strong, whereas the translation “be strengthened,” causes the saint to depend on the Lord for the supply of that strength. “Power” is kratos (κρατος), “relative or manifested power,” and “might” is ischuos (ἰσχυος), “power as an enduement.” The idea is, “in the active efficacy of the might that is inherent in Him.”¹

c.The power that Paul is telling us to access is, as John Stott noted, “[the] power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead and enthroned him in the heavenly places, and which has raised us from the death of sin and enthroned us with Christ.”²

d.This is the very power that Paul continually prayed for the believers in Ephesus to fully know and be clothed in. For instance,

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:16-21)

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

e.It cannot be missed that this truth is NOT offered as an option for a better pathway to victory, as if we could win some other way, but rather as the only pathway to victory. Paul didn’t tell us to fight the battle we are in with our own strength or even present it as an option for consideration. This passage says nothing of the strength we can produce within ourselves, but rather the strength that is exclusively inherent to the Lord! As a matter of fact, the New Testament assures us that if we fight this battle with our strength (the flesh), no matter how religiously pious we may see ourselves and our actions to be, the end will be total disaster (Galatians 5:16-21).

f.Politics aside, for decades, the radical religious regime in Iran that has demonically ruled its own people with an iron fist and, more importantly to our context, has been the number one state sponsor of terrorism against the United States and its allies, resulting in thousands of deaths, constantly saw and projected itself as a military powerhouse. However, when the United States attacked the Iranian military, it was effectively destroyed in a few days. Likewise, a former dictator and drug lord in Venezuela, who had shown no concern for the well-being of his own people, put on a big show with a sword in one hand and shaking his fist with the other at the United States while he gave a speech full of impressive rhetoric about how powerful he saw himself to be. Not long after that, the United States military showed up in the middle of the night and jerked him and his wife right out of their own house, in their own country, handcuffed them, and flew them both to New York City to stand trial for massive crimes against the people of the United States. My point is that the now deceased leaders of Iran and the former dictator of Venezuela were living in a delusion that they were strong enough to stand up against the United States military. However, if you and I think we can win the war we are in through our own power and religious discipline, then we are living in an even greater delusion than the former leaders of Iran or the former dictator of Venezuela. Charles Hodge noted,

g.“As a branch separated from the vine, or as a limb severed from the body, so is a Christian separated from Christ. He, therefore, who rushes into this conflict without thinking of Christ, without putting his trust in him, and without continually looking to him for strength and regarding himself as a member of his body, deriving all life and vigour from him, is demented. He knows not what he is doing. He has not strength even to reach the field. With him the whole conflict is a sham. … When most empty of self, we are most full of God.”³

h.This is the exact lesson that Jesus taught Paul. In 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote,

i. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

j.In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus teaching this to his disciples,

k.“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

l.“Some Christians are so self-confident that they think they can manage by themselves without the Lord’s strength and armour. Others are so self-distrustful that they imagine they have nothing to contribute to their victory in spiritual warfare. Both are mistaken. Paul expresses the proper combination of divine ennabling and human co-operation. The power is indeed the Lord’s, and without the strength of his might we shall falter and fall, but still we need to be strong in him and in it, or more accurately to ‘be strengthened’. For the verb is a passive present which could almost be rendered ‘Strengthen yourselves in the Lord’ or (neb) ‘Find your strength in the Lord’. It is the same construction as in 2 Timothy 2:1 where Paul exhorts Timothy to ‘take strength from the grace of God which is ours in Christ Jesus’ (neb). Similarly, the armour is God’s, and without it we shall be fatally unprotected and exposed, but still we need to take it up and put it on.”⁴

m.“The Christian conflict is not only real, it is difficult and dangerous. It is one in which true believers are often grievously wounded; and multitudes of reputed believers entirely succumb. It is one also in which great mistakes are often committed and serious loss incurred from ignorance of its nature, and of the appropriate means for carrying it on. Men are apt to regard it as a mere moral conflict between reason and conscience on the one side, and evil passions on the other. They therefore rely on their own strength, and upon the resources of nature for success. Against these mistakes the apostle warns his readers. He teaches that every thing pertaining to it is supernatural. The source of strength is not in nature. The conflict is not between the good and bad principles of our nature. He shows that we belong to a spiritual, as well as to a natural world, and are engaged in a combat in which the higher powers of the universe are involved; and that this conflict, on the issue of which our salvation depends, is not to be carried on with straws picked up by the wayside. As we have superhuman enemies to contend with, we need not only superhuman strength, but divine armor and arms. The weapons of our warfare are not natural, but divine.”⁵

2.The second strategic truth is that … The GEAR we need to win is HIS. (6:11)

a.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

b.At this point, I only want us to think about this on the strategic level. If we are going to win, that is, if we are going to be able to stand against the attacks of Satan, we not only have to be strong enough, we also have to have the right gear, and in this case, the only gear that equips us for victory is the gear that belongs to God—the armor of God. Now, next week, we will get into the operational level of the plan that tells us exactly what God’s armor is and what to do with it, but at this point, Paul is addressing it from the strategic level. The point Paul makes in these verses is that we not only need God’s strength to win but also need God’s gear!

c.Even the massively impressive religious practices of the Old Covenant did nothing to win the battle we are in. In Hebrews, we read, “2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.” (Hebrews 9:2-10)

d.However, despite the plethora of precise and bluntly clear Biblical teachings that religion is worthless, every generation of Christianity seems to find some new rationale to drift back into religious disciplines and practices as a source of divine power and weaponry against the enemy. Like one of these ridiculous social media-driven health fads that’s supposed to cure you of everything wrong with you and help you to live until you’re 150 years old, religion and its most impressive-looking religious disciplines are completely worthless in the war Paul is addressing with this briefing. It’s why Paul wrote this to the believers in Colossae,

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 ( referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:16-23)

e.Charles Hodge wrote something extremely profound and relevant concerning this truth. He wrote, “The armour of God, means that armour which God has provided and which he gives. We are thus taught from the outset, that as the strength which we need is not from ourselves, so neither are the means of offence or defence. Nor are they means of man’s devising. This is a truth which has been overlooked in all ages of the church, to the lamentable injury of the people of God. Instead of relying on the arms which God has provided, men have always been disposed to trust to those which they provide for themselves or which have been prescribed by others. Seclusion from the world (i. e. flight rather than conflict), ascetic and ritual observances, invocation of saints and angels, and especially, celibacy, voluntary poverty, and monastic obedience, constitute the panoply which false religion has substituted for the armour of God. Of this fatal mistake, manifested from the beginning, the apostle treats at length in his Epistle to the Colossians, 2:18–23. He there exhorts his hearers, not to allow any one, puffed up with carnal wisdom, and neglecting Christ, the only source of life and strength, to despoil them of their reward, through false humility and the worship of angels, commanding not to touch, or taste, or handle this or that, which methods of overcoming evil have indeed the appearance of wisdom, in humility, will-worship, and neglect of the body, but not the reality, and only serve to satisfy the flesh. They increase the evil which they are professedly designed to overcome. A more accurate description could not be given historically, than is here given prophetically, of the means substituted by carnal wisdom for the armour of God. Calling on saints and angels, humility in the sense of self-degradation, or submitting our will to human authority, neglecting the body, or ascetic observances, abstaining from things lawful, uncommanded rites and ordinances, observing months and days—these are the arms with which the church in her apostasy has arrayed her children for this warfare. These are by name enumerated and condemned by the apostle, who directs us to clothe ourselves with the panoply of God, which he proceeds to describe in detail.”⁶

3.The third strategic truth is that … The battle we must win is an EVER-PRESENT battle with Satan and his demons. (6:11b-12)

a.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

b.I want to make sure you don’t miss the detail in this strategic truth.

b1.We are ALWAYS in this fight, whether we acknowledge it or not!

“… that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” describes an ongoing, ever-present reality that the Bible says will not end until Jesus comes back.

“Each Christian is a target of Satan and his angels, and this struggle goes on throughout one’s lifetime”⁷

“We all wish we could spend our lives in undisturbed tranquillity, among our loved-ones at home and in the fellowship of God’s people. But the way of the escapist has been effectively blocked. Christians have to face the prospect of conflict with God’s enemy and theirs. We need to accept the implications of this concluding passage of Paul’s letter. ‘It is a stirring call to battle … Do you not hear the bugle, and the trumpet?… We are being roused, we are being stimulated, we are being set upon our feet; we are told to be men. The whole tone is martial, it is manly, it is strong’. Moreover, there will be no cessation of hostilities, not even a temporary truce or cease-fire, until the end of life or of history when the peace of heaven is attained. It seems probable that Paul implies this by his Finally … For the better manuscripts have an expression which should be translated not ‘finally’, introducing the conclusion, but ‘henceforward’ meaning ‘for the remaining time’. If this is correct, then the apostle is indicating that the whole of the interim period between the Lord’s two comings is to be characterized by conflict. The peace which God has made through Christ’s cross is to be experienced only in the midst of a relentless struggle against evil. And for this the strength of the Lord and the armour of God are indispensable.”⁸

The fastest way to lose a battle is to either forget or refuse to acknowledge that you’re in one! However, the second-fastest way to lose a battle is to forget who you are fighting! Therefore, the second detail I don’t want you to miss in this strategic truth is that,

b2.The battle Paul is referring to is NOT the one with our own sinful flesh, but with Satan and his demons.

Satan is certainly trying to get us to live in trust and submission to the desires of our flesh, but the war Paul is referring to is not with our flesh but literally with Satan and his demons! Once we surrendered our lives to Christ, we were redeemed from the curse of sin that left us ruled by sin and Satan, but we still live in the realm of sin and Satan, and as such, we are escaped prisoners! Satan is seeking to devour God’s children by deceiving them away from glad submission to God and the experience of His life in the same way he deceived Adam away from glad submission to God!

“… that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evilin the heavenly places.

“But now Paul brings us down to earth, and to realities harsher than dreams. He reminds us of the opposition. Beneath surface appearances an unseen spiritual battle is raging. He introduces us to the devil (already mentioned in 2:2 and 4:27) and to certain ‘principalities and powers’ at his command. He supplies us with no biography of the devil, and no account of the origin of the forces of darkness. He assumes their existence as common ground between himself and his readers. In any case, his purpose is not to satisfy our curiosity, but to warn us of their hostility and teach us how to overcome them. Is God’s plan to create a new society? Then they will do their utmost to destroy it. Has God through Jesus Christ broken down the walls dividing human beings of different races and cultures from each other? Then the devil through his emissaries will strive to rebuild them. Does God intend his reconciled and redeemed people to live together in harmony and purity? Then the powers of hell will scatter among them the seeds of discord and sin. It is with these powers that we are told to wage war, or—to be more precise—to ‘wrestle’ (verse 12, av). This metaphor is not necessarily incompatible with that of the armed soldier which Paul goes on to develop, as if he ‘changed the scenery from that of the battlefield to that of the gymnasium’.¹ He is simply wanting to emphasize the reality of our engagement with the powers of evil, and the grim necessity of hand-to-hand combat.”⁹

“He lifts the vail and discloses to them the spiritual world; the hosts of the kingdom of darkness.”¹⁰

“Our conflict is not with man, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The signification of the terms here used, the context, and the analogy of Scripture, render it certain that the reference is to evil spirits. They are called in Scripture δαιμόνια, demons, who are declared to be fallen angels, 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6, and are now subject to Satan, their prince. They are called ἀρχαί, princes, those who are first or high in rank; and ἐξουσίαι, potentates, those invested with authority. These terms have probably reference to the relation of the spirits among themselves. The designation κοσμοκράτορες, rulers of the world, expresses the power or authority which they exercise over the world. The κόσμος, i. e. mankind, is subject to them; comp. 2 Cor. 4:4; John 16:11. The word is properly used only of those rulers whose dominion was universal. And in this sense the Jews called the angel of death κοσμοκράτὠρ. In the following clause τοῦ σκότους τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, of the darkness of this world; the words τοῦ αἰῶνος, on the authority of the best manuscripts, are generally omitted. The sense is substantially the same whichever reading be adopted. These evil spirits are the rulers of this darkness. The meaning either is, that they reign over the existing state of ignorance and alienation from God; i. e. the world in its apostasy is subject to their control; or this darkness is equivalent to kingdom of darkness. Rulers of the kingdom of darkness, which includes in it, according to the scriptural doctrine, the world as distinguished from the true people of God. The word σκότος is used elsewhere, the abstract for the concrete, for those in darkness, i. e. for those who belong to, or constitute the kingdom of darkness, Luke 22:53; Col. 1:13. Our conflict, therefore, is with the potentates who are rulers of the kingdom of darkness as it now is.”¹¹

“… they are wicked. Power itself is neutral; it can be well used or misused. But our spiritual enemies use their power destructively rather than constructively, for evil not for good. They are the worldwide rulers of this present darkness. They hate the light, and shrink from it. Darkness is their natural habitat, the darkness of falsehood and sin. They are also described as the spiritual hosts of wickedness, which operate in the heavenly places, that is, in the sphere of invisible reality. They are ‘spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil’ (jbp). So then ‘darkness’ and ‘wickedness’ characterize their actions, and ‘the appearance of Christ on earth was the signal for an unprecedented outburst of activity on the part of the realm of darkness controlled by these world-rulers’.⁸ If we hope to overcome them, we shall need to bear in mind that they have no moral principles, no code of honour, no higher feelings. They recognize no Geneva Convention to restrict or partially civilize the weapons of their warfare. They are utterly unscrupulous, and ruthless in the pursuit of their malicious designs.”¹²

b3.The attacks from Satan and his demons rarely look or sound like an ATTACK!

“… schemes of the devil …”

“Wiles” is methodeia (μεθοδεια), “cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery.” The word comes from the verbal form methodeuō (μεθοδευω), “to follow up or investigate by method and settled plan, to follow craftily, frame devices, deceive.” The word “stratagem” will translate it adequately. The phrase “stand against” is a soldier’s expression, used for standing one’s ground, as against taking to flight.”¹³

“… It is because the devil seldom attacks openly, preferring darkness to light, that when he transforms himself into ‘an angel of light’² we are caught unsuspecting. He is a dangerous wolf, but enters Christ’s flock in the disguise of a sheep. Sometimes he roars like a lion, but more often is as subtle as a serpent. We must not imagine, therefore, that open persecution and open temptation to sin are his only or even his commonest weapons; he prefers to seduce us into compromise and deceive us into error. Significantly this same word ‘wiles’ is used in 4:14 of false teachers and their crafty tricks. ‘As in Bunyan’s Holy War’, writes E. K. Simpson, the devil develops ‘a twofold infernal policy’. That is, ‘the tactics of intimidation and insinuation alternate in Satan’s plan of campaign. He plays both the bully and the beguiler. Force and fraud form his chief offensive against the camp of the saints, practised by turns.’ … The ‘wiles of the devil’ take many forms, but he is at his wiliest when he succeeds in persuading people that he does not exist. To deny his reality is to expose ourselves the more to his subtlety. Dr Lloyd-Jones expresses his conviction on this matter in the following terms: ‘I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the Church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten. All is attributed to us; we have all become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact, the being, the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser, and his ‘fiery darts.’’”¹⁴

b4.Satan and his demons are seeking to DESTROY our opportunity to experience God’s life now.

“12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against … ”

Speaking of this battle as a wrestling match does not diminish the severity; if anything, it heightens it! S. Wuest notes, “In the word “wrestle,” (palē (παλη)), Paul uses a Greek athletic term. Thayer defines as follows: “a contest between two in which each endeavors to throw the other, and which is decided when the victor is able to press and hold down his prostrate antagonist, namely, hold him down with his hand upon his neck.” When we consider that the loser in a Greek wrestling contest had his eyes gouged out with resulting blindness for the rest of his days, we can form some conception of the Ephesian Greek’s reaction to Paul’s illustration. The Christian’s wrestling against the powers of darkness is no less desperate and fateful.”¹⁵

“If Satan is really the prince of the powers of darkness, ruler and god of this world; if he is the author of physical and moral evil; the great enemy of God, of Christ and of his people, full of cunning and malice; if he is constantly seeking whom he may destroy, seducing men into sin, blinding their minds and suggesting evil and sceptical thoughts; if all this is true, then to be ignorant of it, or to deny it, or to enter on this conflict as though it were merely a struggle between the good and bad principles in our own hearts, is to rush blindfold to destruction.”¹⁶

This is why Peter wrote, “8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

4.The fourth strategic truth is that … Winning is refusing to QUIT living in glad submission to Christ. (6:13)

a.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

b.Sometimes winning is killing your enemy, but sometimes it is refusing to be defeated by your enemy. For instance, I recently watched a documentary on George Washington, who, before serving as our nation’s first president, was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army tasked with defending the colonies against the most powerful army in the world at the time. Washington fully understood that his task was not to conquer England nor to defeat the British Army, but NOT to be defeated by the British Army, in other words, to refuse to quit! Winning was literally not losing!

c.In Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the United States government ironically forgot the lesson we taught England 250 years ago. It’s one thing to decisively defeat a government and its military so that you establish a more favorable relationship with that independent nation, but defeating an entire nation so that it can be ruled in a manner that the majority of the people don’t want to be ruled is an entirely different matter. Washington knew he had no chance of conquering the British Empire and its military. At that point in history, the British had the most powerful military the world had ever seen. But that wasn’t Washington’s strategic objective, and if it had been, he would have failed miserably. The United States didn’t even have a navy, much less the financial capacity to wage a war to conquer an Empire that the sun itself always shone on because it had conquered and ruled lands all the way around the world! Therefore, Washington’s objective was to defend the former British colonies that had declared themselves as united states independent of the Crown against British invaders attempting to bring them back into submission to the Crown. This is why winning wasn’t conquering England; winning was not being conquered by England! Those were two totally different matters. Washington knew if they could withstand the British Army’s invasion and not lose, they would still have their independence, which was the entire point and thus the measure of winning!

d.On October 19, 1781, Washington’s forces defeated the main British force in Yorktown, VA. It was the last significant battle of the war, and it led to a process that officially ended the war more than eight years after it began. On September 3, 1783, the British signed a peace treaty in Paris that recognized the independence declared by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. But to my point, Washington didn’t conquer the British Empire. On September 4, 1783, the British Empire and its Army still controlled more territory than any other empire in history and, as such, was still the most powerful empire on the planet. However, Washington’s objective wasn’t to conquer England but rather to avoid being conquered by England, and on September 3, 1783, that objective was officially achieved. Washington and the United States had officially won!

e.Similarly, as Washington could not conquer England, we have no power or authority to remove sin and Satan from their place of dominion over this earth and its people. The New Testament, and especially the book of Revelation, make this abundantly clear. God placed the entire universe under the curse of sin, and only God has the power to end it, and God WILL end it. When The Father sends The Son back, The Son, Jesus, will permanently end the rule of Sin and Satan! Therefore, as adopted, rescued, and freed children of God who still live in the realm of sin and Satan, waiting on His return, our battle strategy is not to lose the war! Our independence has been declared, but like England, Satan and his demons still see us as their possessions, and they are going to wage war against us to get us to quit this idea of living in freedom out from under Satan’s rule. We can’t get rid of sin in this world, nor can we get rid of Satan and his demons, but we are also not powerless against them. We are called to STAND firm in Christ and not quit! We are called to refuse to quit pointing people to the worthiness of loving and following Jesus, no matter what! We are called to refuse to stop loving God and others the way Christ loves us! We are called to refuse to stop living in glad, obedient surrender to Christ! And listen, no matter how many battles we lose in this war, if we don’t quit, we win! George Washington lost all kinds of battles, but he refused to quit! In the same way, the strategic objective that wins the battle God has called us into is to simply not quit.

f.Elsewhere in the NT we read:

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:13)

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 1:11-13)

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Now, what we are going to see in the passage over the next two weeks is the next two levels of military planning—the operational and tactical planning to not lose, and as such, win!

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Challenge: Don’t QUIT!

The Revolutionary War was brutal on the commanders and soldiers of the Continental Army, just absolutely brutal. The men fighting the war were essentially unpaid until after the war, and many had to keep re-enlisting because there simply weren’t enough men to keep resupplying the army and still have enough to farm the land and produce the goods and services needed to keep the country alive while it fought the British. Imagine how hard it was on the families of the men who spent 8 years fighting the British with essentially NO pay. Washington was reimbursed for expenses after the war, but he never received payment for his service. He volunteered not to be paid when he agreed to lead the army.

There’s no surprise, then, that Washington had to consistently deal with deserters who threatened to leave the army too weak to fight, attempts to remove him from command, and even, at one time, an attempt by some in his army to mobilize his forces out from underneath his leadership to attack the Continental Congress and take the money they were owed! If that had happened, we would still be under the crown! My point is that Washington had more reasons to quit than anybody in United States history, but he knew the fight was not to quit. Washington knew the fight was literally to keep himself from quitting so that he could keep his army from quitting, and, in so doing, eventually lead the British to abandon their attempt to bring the United States into submission to the Crown.

With that same mentality, the Apostle Paul spoke of the far more important and consequential battle we are in with Satan and the forces of darkness when he wrote this,

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:12-21)

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DISCUSSION GUIDE

Generally Speaking:
-What are some things that wear you down?
-What are some things that strengthen you?

Ephesians 6:10-13 clarifies 4 important strategic truths about the war we are in.

1.The STRENGTH we need belongs to the LORD. (6:10)
-What are some essential differences between “Be strong” and “Be strong in the Lord”?

2.The GEAR we need to win is HIS. (6:11)
-What “GEAR” do we create and try to call ‘God’s Gear’?
-What is God’s Gear?
-Where do you need more of His Gear?

3.The battle we must win is an EVER-PRESENT battle with Satan and his demons. (6:11b-12)
We are ALWAYS in this fight, whether we acknowledge it or not!
What does the daily battle look like for you?

The battle Paul is referring to is NOT the one with our own sinful flesh, but with Satan and his demons.
*There’s a depth of description in Austin’s online manuscript
-Try to define some level of the evil of Satan and his demonic structure
-What’s the difference between the battle of your sinful flesh and the battle against Satan and demons?
-How do these differences change the battle?

The attacks from Satan and his demons rarely look or sound like an ATTACK!
-What is something that is apparently true that you discovered to be a lie?

Satan and his demons are seeking to DESTROY our opportunity to experience God’s life now.
-What are some deceptive tools Satan seems to currently be using against believers and the church?

4.Winning is refusing to QUIT living in glad submission to Christ. (6:13)
-How are you winning in something that used to defeat you?

Challenge: Don’t QUIT!

Other Scriptures Mentioned: Matthew 24:13, John 15:4-5, 1 Corinthians 10:13; 15:58, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 1:16-21; 3:14-21, Philippians 3:12-21, Colossians 2:16-23, 2 Timothy 1:11-13, Hebrews 10:23-25, 1 Peter 5:8.

*Review the Objective of the Month