This 363-page book with twenty-five chapters was compiled from sermons preached by Dr. Lloyd-Jones on eleven verses: Ephesians 6:10-20. This book was a companion to The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6:10-13. The following quotes are a few excerpts from selected chapters.
Chapter 4: Morale
How did the saints overcome the devil 'by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony'? Doubtless it includes the thought that they spoke to the devil. They put into practice the exhortation, 'Resist the devil; and he will flee from you' How do you do so? 'You cannot touch me any longer. You used to be able to touch me, but you cannot now, the blood of Christ is upon me.' And the mention of the word 'the blood of Christ' always defeats the devil. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony.' They turned upon him and they said: 'You are a defeated foe and we belong to the One who defeated you; we are no longer afraid of you.' That is how it is done! "They overcame.' They did not just sit back and let Christ overcome them. That is not the teaching of the Scripture. You and I are enabled to do the overcoming by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony. There is no 'let go and let God' here. You hold on and you fight. The astounding truth is that we are enabled to conquer the devil, to overcome him, to be more than conquerors over him. We are to resist him, and he will flee from us as long as we do so in this right way. (p.61)
... if you and I are to wrestle triumphantly against the devil and all his powers, the first essential is assurance of salvation. There is no hope for us in this conflict unless we know God's power and God's might. But if we are uncertain about our relationship to Him we cannot stand and withstand in the fight. In other words the key to victory over the devil is assurance of salvation, certainly concerning our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. That is but another way of saying, 'They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony' You cannot give a testimony if you do not know your position. It is only one who is certain who can give a testimony, and who can act as a witness. The saints' testimony in the Book of Revelation is that the blood was on them, that they belonged to Christ; they possessed assurance of salvation. (p.62)
Chapter 7: Discipline
We are never in a more dangerous position and condition than when we are idle. (p.95)
Chapter 10: Things to Avoid
Furthermore, we are to avoid people who do not believe in the Bible as the Word of God, for they will do you harm; they will take from your spiritual energy and you will eventually become diseased. How often has this happened! How often have we known young men, truly converted, full of passion for souls and zeal and enthusiasm, who after they have been to a theological college come out quite useless! What has happened is that their faith in the Word of God has been undermined. What harm it does, what ruination it has so often produced! I am referring to a certain attitude to the Scriptures, to the teaching that man with his reason is able to determine what is right and what is wrong. The critic believes this about the Lord, he does not believe that; he does not believe in His Virgin Birth, he does not believe in the miracles, he does not believe in the atoning death and resurrection. The Bible is no longer the Word of God, there is no real Gospel, there is no message. Have no fellowship with people who do not believe the Bible to be the Word of God. I am talking about people who call themselves Christians. Of course you have got to deal with others; but if a man says he is a Christian and claims to be such, and yet undermines the very basis and foundation of the faith, have no fellowship with him. (p.151)
There is nothing that is so fatal to spiritual vigour and power as a wrong attitude to the Word of God and to the cardinal Christian doctrines. That is why the Apostle wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 15. Certain people were denying the Resurrection. Why is Paul concerned about this? 'Because evil communications corrupt good manners.' The life will go wrong if the doctrine is wrong. And I have no hesitation in asserting again that one of the main causes of the condition of the Christian Church today is the departure during the past century from a belief in the divine and plenary inspiration of the Holy Scripture, and its final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. There is no question about this. The Christian Church herself by casting doubt upon the veracity of the word and the authority of the Scripture has literally sown the seeds of unbelief in the minds of the masses of the people, with the result that they are now outside the Church. And they will remain there until the Church returns to a belief in the authority of the Word of God. (p.152)
Chapter 12: The Whole Armor of God
The whole armour of God is provided for us. So let us make sure that we are clad with this whole armour of God, which, ultimately, is an understanding and an application of the truth of the Gospel.
Notice, further, the double emphasis upon the 'whole' armour. ‘Put on the whole armour of God.' 'Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God.' This again is something of crucial importance. It means that we do not pick and choose in this matter. If you are to be a soldier in this army, if you are to fight victoriously in this crusade, you have to put on the entire equipment given to you. That is a rule in any army. You cannot select which parts of your uniform you are going to put on. If you say, 'I do not think this is going to suit me, I do not quite like that, you know exactly what will happen to you. And that is infinitely more true in this spiritual realm and warfare with which we are concerned. The moment you begin to say, 'I need this helmet, but I do not need the breastplate', you are already defeated. You need it all – 'the whole armour of God' - because your understanding is inadequate. It is God alone who knows your enemy, and He knows exactly the provision that is essential to you if you are to continue standing. Every single part and portion of this armour is absolutely essential; and the first thing you have to learn is that you are not in a position to pick and choose.
This means that we take the whole body of Christian doctrine; we do not concentrate on particular parts of it. (P.179)
That is a crucial part of our whole trouble today. We must take the complete doctrine. The Apostle Paul refers to this in his last words to the elders of this Church at Ephesus as recorded in Acts, chapter 20. He was on his journey to Jerusalem and the elders of Ephesus came down to meet him at Miletus. The Apostle is glad and proud of the fact that he can say that he had declared unto them 'the whole counsel of God'. There was nothing he had left unsaid. Similarly, there is no part of Christian doctrine that you and I can afford to ignore. We must study every part of Scripture: and it is good to read the whole Bible every year. Leave nothing out, read the history, read everything. Take every part and portion of the doctrine. Do not stop at evangelism, do not stop at justification, do not stop at sanctification; take in glorification, study prophecy, take the whole doctrine. Nothing causes such weakness and failure in the Christian Church as a failure on our part to put on the whole armour of God'. (p.180)
Chapter 15: The Scripture of Truth
There can be no doubt whatsoever that all the troubles in the Church today, and most of the troubles in the world, are due to a departure from the authority of the Bible. And, alas, it was the Church herself that led in the so-called Higher Criticism that came from Germany just over a hundred years ago. Human philosophy took the place of revelation, man's opinions were exalted and Church leaders talked about 'the advance of knowledge and science,' and the assured results, of such knowledge. The Bible then became a book just like any other book, out of date in certain respects, wrong in other respects, and so on. It was no longer a book on which you could rely implicitly. There is no question at all that the falling away, even in Church attendance, in this country is the direct consequence of the Higher Criticism. (p.210)
Chapter 25: Praying in the Spirit
So it is interesting to observe that as he comes to his last word it should be concerned with prayer. I re-emphasize the fact, therefore, that the ultimate test of the Christian life is the amount of time we give to prayer. But my statement can be misleading because it rather represents prayer as a duty. Prayer is a duty, but it is much more than a duty. It should be a delight, it should be the ultimate expression of the Christian life. (p.350)
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