Welcome to Wednesday. It’s a blessing to be with you on this first day of July in the Pastor’s Workshop.
As we “Prepare with Prayer” for Sunday we’re getting “Battle Ready”. The sermon comes from Ephesians 6:10-18.
On Wednesday we look at the context of the text. What was the world like into which this word was first spoken? How does this knowledge expand our understanding of what is being said in the passage?
We live in a “scientific” world. Thinking about the cosmos was much different in the Roman world. When this Scripture was written the notion of the “spiritual” was much more pervasive. It was also much more invasive. The thought of gods actively and hostilely intruding into human life was widely accepted.
This text was penned in a “warring world”. Roman military campaigns were a regular occurrence. Kings battling for turf was common. Kingdoms in conflict were an accepted norm. The concept of “spiritual warfare” expanded on this experience.
Dueling deities, where one god was warring with another, was typical in Roman mythology. A primal battle of good and evil, personified in God and the devil, was conceivable to many. So when the Apostle wrote you are fighting “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers” the listener would have a greater sense of “spiritual warfare” than we do today.
In this warring world the Roman centurion was the symbol of military strength. He was the most formidable of all fighters. His armor was elite equipment. If you were going into combat equipped like a centurion you were ready for battle. As the Apostle details putting on the “full armor”, with belt, breastplate and leggings, shield, helmet and sword the hearer would have a graphic vision of impressive empowerment which happened in suiting up.
“Praying in the Spirit” envisions “putting on the full armor of God” for “spiritual warfare. “Praying in the Spirit” was how the believer became battle ready. “Praying the Spirit” was how they became “strong In the Lord and the strength of his might.” This is the strength they would need to survive the struggle and win the victory.
At times it’s difficult for us in the modern world to understand what our ancestors of the faith might have been thinking as we read a text. More than that, to have a visceral sense of their struggle and empowerment is hard to imagine. And yet I think it’s important for us to try as we seek to discern God’s truth for our day.
What does “spiritual warfare”, “being strong in the Lord”, “putting on the full armor of God”, and “praying in the spirit” mean for you?
I look forward to continuing our work with this passage. As we come to tomorrow we’ll see how it all fits together and how this Scripture speaks a word for us today. In that blessing I’ll join you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the faith of our ancestors. Thank you for their witness to the depths of struggle in life and the heights of strength they found in You. Thank you for their guidance on the gift of prayer. Help us to learn more fully from their words of yesterday that we might live more faithfully in our world today. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.