The Christian warfare.
Even in common parlance we speak of "the battle of life." Even for ordinary purposes we have to fight against indolence, evil lusts, dishonest tendencies, and many other things in ourselves; and against opposition, ill treatment, temptation on the part of others, and the depressing effects of trial and disappointment. All hard work -is a fight; we have to fight against the sense of monotony, against the feeling of weariness, against the longing for ease; and when we are sick, or feeble, or depressed, it is often hard to hold on the straight path of hard duty and turn away from the allurements of pleasure. The ring of the hammer, the blow of the shuttle, the housewife's active step from dawn to dewy eve, often tell of battles and victories in quiet spheres, that without the eclat have much more real glory than ordinary wars. But much more is the Christian life a battle. The chief enemies here are unseen. It is impossible to pursue an aimless, careless life and be a Christian. "If any man will come after me," said Christ, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." Not only to be a Christian, but such a Christian as this Epistle delineates; to walk worthy of the vocation with which we are called; to be ever reaching forth toward the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; to be growing up into Christ toward that condition in which we shall be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; to be advancing thus in spite of hosts of spiritual foes, working- unseen, sapping and mining, our Christian life, trying to entangle and enslave us in every way;—this can be no easy task; it is a veritable battle, demanding constant vigilance and incessant care. It may seem strange that we should be exposed to such enemies. Is not our blessed Lord exalted far above all principality and power and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come? Has he not spoiled principalities and powers, making a show of them openly? Is he not Head overall things to his Church? Why, then, does he not crush all her foes? Doubtless because he has purposes of discipline to carry out in connection with these enemies, because, while he is willing to fight in and through his people, he does not see it right to crush his foes without their instrumentality; in this way habits of vigilance and prayer and activity must be kept up by them; but all the greater will be their joy when at last the victory is gained, and they get the reward of "him that overcometh." In the Middle Ages, certain coarse means were employed to arrest attention to the formidable foes that beset the Christian soldier. Frescoes were painted on the walls of churches and other ecclesiastical buildings, representing souls which were sometimes seen coming out of dying bodies, while angels on the one side, and devils on the other, were striving to get them. The devils were grotesque, hideous, revolting monsters, more absurd than terrible. It was the way of that age to embody truths which in our material age are apt to be thought as ridiculous as the demons of the Italian frescoes. But there are spirits of evil hovering about us, trying to obscure and pervert the truth, to blind us to the fruits of sin, to dazzle our eyes with the glory of earth, to entangle us in subtle temptations, to fill our minds with doubts and fears and evil forebodings, luring us to the edge of the precipice, and ready, if they should get their way, to burst into their bitter scornful laugh, as they behold us, through their wiles, weltering in the gulf of despair. Let us observe:
1. The true Source of strength: "In the Lord" (Ephesians 6:10).
2. The true amour to seek. "The whole amour of God" (Ephesians 6:11).
3. The true enemies to be overcome. (Ephesians 6:11,Ephesians 6:12.) "The wiles of the devil," and other unseen spiritual foes.
4. The true employment and attitude of the Christian warrior: "Withstand... and stand" (Ephesians 6:13).
5. The various pieces of the amour, and their use. (Ephesians 6:14-18.) "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?" An army consists of men who not only have amour, but have been trained to use it. An unarmed army can only be food for the enemy's artillery, material for a dreadful massacre. Let professing Christians see that they are armed, and that they are making a good use of their amour. Nature cries out for an easy lithe, for a truce with the world, the devil, and the flesh. In this sense our motto must be war, not peace; for in this sense Christ came, not to send peace on earth, but a sword.