Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against … Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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. (ESV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against …
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places . 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
In a culture that does not readily address the spiritual, especially topics such as demon possession, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the fact that demon possession is a topic that demands to be talked about. God’s holy word addresses the topic on numerous occasions, it is explicitly mentioned in the Gospels themselves, and it is both a historical and missional issue. Focusing primarily on involuntary demon possession, Dr. Lloyd-Jones defines this occurrence as anything from the individual receiving power above their own capacity to potentially causing a sudden change of mood. In this sermon on Ephesians 6:10–13 titled “Demon Possession,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones goes on to speak about how devil possession cannot be localized to certain areas of the world, but recognized as occurring anywhere in the world, specifically where the kingdom of darkness is explicitly at work and sometimes under the guise of hypnotism and mesmerism. Yet despite the presence of darkness, Dr. Lloyd-Jones recognizes that Christ has always been able to overwhelm the kingdom of darkness and will continue to do so. Though the world denies the gospel and entertains evil, Christ has come to undo the powers of evil and the possession that the devil has had over His creation.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.