Pastor Rob Bray | 4-12-2026
The church is under attack. While God is building up His people, Satan is working overtime to tear us apart. This spiritual warfare isn’t just happening in distant places—it’s happening right in our local churches, targeting three critical areas: our relationships, our theology, and our response to pastoral leadership.
Why Does Satan Target the Church?
The enemy attacks the church because it’s God’s chosen vehicle for accomplishing His mission on earth. The church is where God’s people band together to spread the gospel, make disciples, and represent Jesus to the world. When Satan can fracture churches, he disrupts God’s mission and leaves believers isolated and vulnerable.
The local church is the hope of the world. It’s where we actually live out Christ’s commandments in relationship with other people. As local churches multiply and thrive, so does the hope of the gospel.
God’s Strategy vs. Satan’s Strategy
Paul reveals in Ephesians 4 that God is growing us up into a committed and resilient church, while Satan is trying to tear us apart in three specific ways:
God’s Plan:
- Relational maturity through bearing with one another in love
- Theological unity by majoring on the majors
- Pastoral submission to spiritual authority
Satan’s Schemes:
- Relational division through hurt and offense
- Theological confusion through false teaching and petty disagreements
- Pastoral rebellion by pitting hearts against spiritual leaders
What Does Walking Worthy Look Like?
Paul begins Ephesians 4 by urging believers to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). But what does this actually mean?
The answer comes in verse 2: “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Walking worthy means putting up with each other—bearing with one another when frustrations arise.
This requires three key attitudes:
- Humility instead of pride
- Gentleness instead of harshness
- Patience instead of quick reactions
The Unity of the Spirit
Paul calls us to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Notice that unity comes from the Holy Spirit, not our own efforts. When conflict arises with other believers, we can take a timeout to pray and let the Holy Spirit be the referee.
The foundation of our unity rests on these truths: “There is one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). When secondary disagreements threaten to divide us, we must remember we serve the same Jesus, share the same faith, and have the same heavenly Father.
The Five-Fold Ministry: God’s Gift to the Church
God has given the church five types of spiritual leaders to equip believers for ministry:
Apostles – The “thumb” that can touch all gifts; they govern and establish new works Prophets – The “pointer finger” that calls out sin and points to God’s direction
Evangelists – The “middle finger” that reaches furthest to the lost Shepherds/Pastors – The “ring finger” that represents covenant relationship and care Teachers – The “pinky” that opens ears to God’s Word with clarity
These leaders exist “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). Their job isn’t to do all the ministry, but to train believers to do their own ministry.
Three Signs of Christian Maturity
Relational Maturity: Staying Together in Love
Mature believers don’t avoid conflict—they endure through it with people. Immature believers separate quickly when things get difficult. Real maturity isn’t measured by how gifted you are, but by how long you can stay in covenant love when it gets hard.
Satan’s strategy is to get you hurt and offended so you’ll divide and isolate yourself. God’s strategy is for you to stay humble, be patient, and develop relational resilience where you actually work out your issues.
Theological Maturity: Standing Together in Truth
Immature believers are “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). They can be talked out of their faith by a single social media post or podcast. Mature believers are anchored and discerning, majoring on the majors while allowing diversity on secondary issues.
Satan uses confusion, false teaching, and petty disagreements to fracture churches theologically. God’s goal is a church deeply rooted doctrinally that weathers cultural storms and heresy together.
Pastoral Maturity: Submitting Together in Growth
Part of Christian maturity is not resisting spiritual leadership, but rightly responding to it. When we reject or neglect spiritual authority, we drift into disorder, immaturity, and division. When we lean in and respond properly, we grow in unity, strength, and fullness in Christ.
Pastors and spiritual leaders are gifts from God, even when they’re imperfect. The solution to past church hurt isn’t to reject all spiritual authority, but to practice forgiveness and grace while still honoring God-given leadership.
The Danger of Chasing the Perfect Church
Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned: “He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter.” Many believers wound churches in their wake while chasing an idealized church that doesn’t exist.
The church is meant to be like a bridge—we lay our lives down so others can reach Jesus. But when relationships fracture and people abandon their posts, the bridge becomes unstable and dangerous for new believers trying to cross.
Life Application
Christian maturity isn’t measured by how much biblical knowledge you possess, but by how faithfully you hold together with people, truth, and spiritual responsibility in a local church. Half the battle is simply sticking together when things get difficult.
This week, consider these three action steps:
Repent of any ways you’ve been flaky or divisive toward your local church. This might mean reaching out to former pastors or church members to ask forgiveness.
Forgive any church hurt you’re carrying. Don’t let past wounds define your relationship with the church. Some church hurt comes from legitimate betrayal, but some comes from our own immaturity.
Commit to your local church for the long haul. Consider making a 2-3 year minimum commitment to work through issues rather than running when things get challenging.
Questions for Reflection:
- Am I more committed to my dream of the perfect church than to the real, imperfect church God has placed me in?
- How do I respond when conflict arises with other believers—do I flee or do I work through it with humility, gentleness, and patience?
- Do I honor the spiritual leaders God has placed in my life, or do I resist their authority when it’s inconvenient?
- What would change in my church if everyone committed to staying and working through difficulties rather than leaving when things get hard?
You can’t grow into all God has for you if you refuse the leaders He’s placed over you to help you get there. The very thing that hurts you—the church—is often the very thing God uses to heal you.